


We've Got Training to Do (clean version)

by brieflyshypuppy



Series: Ninjas not sinjas [1]
Category: Ninjago - Fandom
Genre: AU/Canon Divergence, Basically an additional ninja is added, F/F, F/M, M/M, This is the same as my other one, and I try to keep it as SFW as possible, but you don't ever see it, except without cursing, there's mentions of characters dying, though there are a few hints
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-02 09:09:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10214219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brieflyshypuppy/pseuds/brieflyshypuppy
Summary: Ah-yep, I'm making a clean versionSame as the other oneJust without swearing





	1. Long Before Time had a Name

**Author's Note:**

> Ah-yep, I'm making a clean version
> 
> Same as the other one
> 
> Just without swearing

Since Ninjago’s creation, there has been a balance. Good and evil, light and dark, day and night. He who created Ninjago, known to most as the First Spinjitzu Master and to few as Master Yin, was the embodiment of that light. But where there is light, there will always be shadow. These shadows spawned an entity named Chluurn, but was known to most as the Overlord.

Master Yin passed his Elemental Powers unto five individuals, who became the first Elemental Masters. They were the Masters of Fire, Lightning, Earth, Ice, and Light and Wind. Yin created for them five Golden Weapons: a sword, nunchucks, a scythe, shurikens, and a knife respectively. With the help of these Elemental Masters, who eventually became known as the first Ninjas and whose names have been lost in time, Yin was able to stop Chuluurn from encasing all Ninjago in darkness.

Centuries passed. The first Elemental Masters passed on their powers to their children, and their children’s children. Yin, too, passed his powers on to his two sons, Sen and Wu. Sen got the power of Destruction, while Wu got the power of Creation. Eventually, Yin himself passed on, leaving his sons in charge of protecting Ninjago and the Golden Weapons.

But Sen’s heart became darkened, and he sought to take the Golden Weapons for his own. With a heavy heart, Wu banished his brother to Ninjago’s Underworld and hid the five Golden Weapons.

Many years have passed, and Ninjago seems to be at peace. But when that peace is disrupted, it will be up to five Ninjas to bring it back.

In the meantime, Wu has already begun training a student, a descendant of the first Master of Light and Wind. She shows great promise, and holds the potential for a lot of power. Only time will tell if she can step up to the challenge of the original Ninjas. 


	2. A Turn of Events

Jade frowned at her phone display. This seemed out of character for him. He didn't normally call. She tapped on the “answer” button. “Hello?”

“Jade,” came the voice of her teacher, Sensei Wu. “Something horrible has happened. You must return to the monastery immediately.”

“Sensei, it's the middle of the semester,” Jade said. “And what do you mean, ‘something horrible has happened?’ What happened?”

“There is too much to explain at the moment,” said Sensei. “Please just trust me.”

Jade hesitated. Obviously something really bad was going on, otherwise he wouldn't have called. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll be there in about an hour and a half.”

She hung up and got up off the sofa. Geode looked at her. “Everything okay, Jade?”

“Yeah,” Jade sighed. “Just my old martial arts teacher being cryptic as usual. I gotta go, apparently.” Jade leaned down to kiss her girlfriend. “I’ll call you when I know what’s going on.”

“Do you need a ride?” Geode asked.

Jade considered it. “No,” she decided. “I can just take my car. I don't know how long I’ll be gone. Could be an hour, could be a month. You can help me pack, though.”

“Sure,” said Geode.

Jade hunted down her overnight bag and Geode helped her stuff it with training clothes, pajamas, and clean socks. For good measure, Jade threw in her favorite Ninjago State sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Then she zipped the bag closed and kissed Geode goodbye.

“Call you in a bit,” she said. “Love you!”

“Love you too, Jade,” said Geode.

Jade stuck her overnight bag into the passenger seat of her little silver car and slid into the driver seat. Then she began the drive to Sensei’s monastery.

~0~0~0~

Forty-five minutes later, she was at the base of the mountain. Unfortunately, it was all on foot from here. She parked and locked her car and, shouldering her bag, began her ascent.

She made the trek up the mountain steps three times a week for her Spinjitzu lessons, which had started when she was thirteen. Four years later, and she still wasn't quite used to it, though her time had decreased dramatically. Back then, it had taken her about two hours. Now it took her less than twenty minutes.

When she made it to the top, Sensei Wu was waiting for her. “Good. You are here,” he said. He ushered her inside, and Jade stepped through the gate into the familiar courtyard.

“Spill it, Sensei,” she said. “What's going on? What was so urgent that you decided to call me in the middle of the semester?”

“I am glad you see the urgency,” said Sensei. “Come inside. I will tell you.”

Jade sat in a chair, her bag at her feet. “Okay. I'm inside. Now what's going on?”

Sensei sighed. “This will not be easy to hear,” he said. “Your brother has been taken by the Skeleton Army, and—”

“What?” Jade interrupted. “How? Why?”

“I was not finished,” Sensei said calmly. “I do not know how the Skeletons have returned, and I do not know why, but I do know that they seemed to have a particular grudge against your family. Jade, I am very sorry, but your family’s house was burned down and your parents did not make it out.”

Jade's mouth dropped open. “W-what?”

“I am very sorry,” Sensei repeated. “I know this is very hard for you—”

“Where are the Skeletons now?” Jade demanded, leaping to her feet. “They're _not_ gonna get away with this.”

“Now is not the time to make rash decisions,” said Sensei. “Remember, a Master of Spinjitzu fights with honor. There is no honor in revenge.”

“Forget _honor_!” Jade waved her hand dismissively. “If I can't save my parents, I'm at least gonna get my brother back!”

“There will be time,” said Sensei, trying to calm her down. “But you must not rush into battle. First you must train to fully harness your powers of Light and Wind to become the Bronze Ninja.”

Jade froze. “The Bronze Ninja?”

“Yes.” Sensei looked at her pointedly. “And we must find the other four.”

“Other four.” Jade sank back in her chair, running a hand through her hair. “This is really happening, then? Like it did all those centuries ago?”

“Yes.”

Jade took a deep breath. “Okay. Do you know where the other four are?”

“Not all of them, just three. The Masters of Earth, Lightning, and Ice. I still must find the Master of Fire, but I will be leaving soon to fetch the first three. They will need all the training they can get.”

“Then I’ll meet you back here,” Jade said, standing up once more. “I’ll have to get all the rest of my stuff from my dorm and talk to the administration. I shouldn't be long.”

“Nor should I,” said Sensei, also standing.

Jade dumped her bag in the room she usually slept in if she had to stay the night and then went back down the mountain steps to her car. As she drove back to campus, she thought about what lay ahead. Administration would be easy. She had a full-ride scholarship that she could do anything she wanted with. She could easily transfer all her classes to online courses. The most likely problem would be Geode’s reaction.

Before she knew it, she was back at the Ninjago State University campus. She decided to talk to the administrators first, and then see Geode.

Like she had assumed in the car, getting her courses transferred to online was a cinch. It only took about twenty minutes. But then came the bigger problem: Geode.

Jade unlocked the door to their dorm room. “Geode, I’m back,” she called.

“You were right, that wasn't very long,” came Geode’s voice. She appeared in the doorway to her room. “What'd he want?”

Jade hesitated, trying to think of a way to explain. She decided to go with the truth.

“Sorry to make things blunt,” Jade said, “but my house burned down, my parents are dead, my little brother’s been kidnapped, and I have to become a Ninja. I already talked to administrators to get my classes transferred online. I'm here to get my stuff all packed, and then I'm going to be moving into the monastery.”

“Whoa—what?” said Geode. “Jade, that's a lot to be dealing with, and I'm not even the one dealing with it! Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” Jade said. “Currently running on anger, but fine.”

Geode paused. “Do you need a hug?”

“I need a hug.”

Geode’s arms surrounded Jade, who leaned into Geode’s chest. Tears threatened to slip through Jade’s eyes, but she wouldn't let them. She had to be strong. She couldn't let the tears start now.

After a minute of silence, Jade mumbled, “Geode, you know this is gonna take a while, right?”

Geode sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

“So you know that this is…well, it's most likely goodbye.”

“…I know.”

The two girls sat and hugged a few moments longer, and then Jade slowly untangled herself from Geode’s arms. “I told Sensei I wouldn't be long,” she said. “I should get the rest of my stuff packed.”

“Okay,” said Geode.

“Do you ever actually use the Keurig?” asked Jade.

“No, you can take it with you. I know how you can't survive without your morning coffee.”

After a couple more minor interruptions, Geode helped Jade pack up all her stuff into her car. It only took one trip. The sun was almost set.

Before Jade could get into the car herself, Geode grabbed her arm. “We can still be friends, right?” she said.

Jade looked in Geode’s green-blue eyes and her heart melted. “Of course,” she said. “Isabelle Lucy Geode, there will never be a time that I won't want to be friends with you.”

Geode blushed when Jade used her full name. “The feeling is mutual, Isabelle Jade Guang.”

Now it was Jade’s turn to go pink. She threw her arms around Geode. “I’ll miss you,” she whispered.

“I’ll miss you too,” said Geode, returning the hug. When she drew back, her eyes were steely. “Get your brother back, Jade. And tell him I say hello.”

Jade cracked a smile. “Will do.” She quickly kissed Geode’s cheek and got into her car. “I’ll call you when I’m all moved in, okay?”

“Alright,” said Geode. She waved as Jade pulled out of the campus parking lot.

~0~0~0~

Another hour later (traffic was a pain), Jade parked at the base of the mountain steps. There was someone there already, a boy about Jade’s age, if not a year or so older. He was a couple inches taller, and a whole lot more obviously muscular. He had longish black hair and skin like the walnut floors in her dorm. He was gaping at the huge mountain in front of them.

“Hi,” Jade said, making him jump and whirl around. His eyes were green like the grass of a golf course. Jade nodded at the mountain. “It can be a bit intimidating the first time you go up.”

“You've…been here before?” the boy asked.

“Yeah, but only three times. A week. For the past four years.” She grinned and stuck out her hand. “Jade Guang.”

He shook it hesitantly. “Cole Brookstone.”

“You must be one of the other Ninjas that Sensei mentioned finding,” said Jade.

“Y-yeah. You too?”

“Mm-hmm.” Jade pulled the rest of her bags out of the trunk. “I've mostly got Spinjitzu in the bag, but I’ve never used it with my powers before. I think it's gonna be super-cool.”

“I didn't know there was a gonna be a girl on the team.”

She turned to look at him, her eyebrow raising. “I beg your pardon?”

“I didn't mean—”

“I’ll have you know, I’ve been training as a master of Spinjitzu since I was thirteen years old. I began to show signs of my powers over Light and Wind when I was four. Do you even know what your powers _are_ yet?”

“Well no, but—”

“So who’s less qualified here?” Jade demanded. “The girl who’s been training for years, or the boy who hasn't even been inside the monastery yet?”

Cole raised his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I could have phrased that better. I just meant—the old dude could have explained it a little better. I don't even know how many people there are gonna be on the team.”

“Hmm.” Jade gave him a sideways glance as they started up the mountain. “Well, there's gonna be five total. A Master of Light and Wind, a Master of Fire, a Master of Lightning, a Master of Earth, and a Master of Ice. Also, the ‘old dude’ is Sensei Wu; a name you better learn quickly.”

“Right. I suck with names,” Cole confessed.

Just then, a bus stopped at the base of the mountain. Jade watched as two figures, one with pale skin and red hair and the other with slightly darker skin and white-blond hair emerged from the vehicle. The red-haired figure waved at the leaving bus, and Jade noticed how tiny he was, even from up here.

“Might as well wait for them,” she told Cole.

The other two caught up to them quickly. “Hi!” said the shorter of the two. “I’m Jay!”

“And I am Zane,” said the taller.

Jay was more than a foot shorter than Jade, and thin as a whistle. His eyes were the color of storm clouds, and his hair was like fire. His right eyebrow had a scar that split it in half. Despite his small stature, Jay seemed eager to start training.

Zane, on the other hand, was just a few inches shorter than Jade. His skin was like Earl Grey tea with just a little too much milk, his hair was so blond it was almost white, and his eyes were the palest blue Jade had ever seen. He didn't seem as enthusiastic as Jay obviously was.

Jade and Cole both introduced themselves, and the four of them started up the mountain. They were infuriatingly slow, but Jade supposed it was to be expected. This was their first time up the mountain, while Jade had been up countless times.

“So, where are you guys from?” Jay asked the group at large, struggling with a bag that was almost as big as he was.

Jade took his bag and had him carry her own. “I mostly grew up in Ninjago City,” she answered. “My stepdad grew up there, too, and never really left. My mom and I moved in with him when I was about six.”

“And before you were six?” asked Cole.

Jade frowned. “Don't really remember. I was pretty little, though, so it's whatever. Cole, you contributed to the conversation, your turn.”

“I grew up in Ninjago City, too,” he said. “I lived there with my dad and some of his friends.”

He didn't elaborate any further. Jade decided not to ask.

“I am uncertain of my origins,” said Zane, who like Jade wasn't even breaking a sweat. “I have very few memories of my past. During the parts I do remember, however, I lived in a village near the Birchwood Forest.”

“And what about you, Jay?” asked Jade. “Where are you from?”

“Oh, um. I lived with my parents pretty close to Ninjago City,” he said hesitantly. “But more in the way of the desert.”

Jade could sense that he was somewhat embarrassed of his origins, so she again decided not to ask.

About ten minutes passed in silence. It was full dark now. _I could be at the top by now if I were on my own_ , Jade thought. But when she looked down she saw that they were only halfway up the mountain. She was tempted to just go ahead of all the others and go up the mountain herself, but a) Jay had her bag and she had his and b) Cole was in front of her and the steps were super narrow.

 _Time for more small talk_ , she thought. These were supposed to be her teammates. She could be honest with them…right?

She was saved from having to think of a question when Cole said, “Okay, so Cole Brookstone, Jade Guang… what are your last names?”

“Walker,” said Jay.

“I use the last name Roberts,” said Zane.

“So you and Jay are probably going to have some name issues, huh?” Cole asked Jade. “I mean you guys practically have the same name.”

“Not unless Jay is his middle name and he has a secret first name that starts with an I but never uses,” Jade said shortly.

“Jade’s your middle name?” asked Jay.

“Yes.”

“What is your first name?” asked Zane curiously.

“It doesn't matter. Call me Jade and that's the end of that.”

Two thirds up the mountain. Jade’s eye began to develop a slight twitch. She could have gone up the mountain, eaten a sandwich, and completed the training course six times in the time it took these three.

“Can we try and guess your first name?” asked Jay.

“You can try,” Jade said with a small grin.

“Is it Ila?” guessed Jay.

“Uh-uh.”

“Ilene?” asked Cole.

“Nope.”

“Indigo?” said Zane.

“Not even close.”

They kept guessing, from names the complete opposite of hers to something so close Jade was tempted to just tell them. They had given up by the time they finally reached the top of the mountain.

 _Sweet, sweet freedom_ , Jade thought in relief. She maneuvered around Cole and pushed open the gate.

Sensei was waiting for them all. “Good, the four of you have already met,” he said. “Although, Jade, I expected you a little earlier.”

“Sorry, Sensei,” Jade said. “Geode, ah—held me up.” Oh god, she was blushing, wasn't she?

“Who’s Geode?” asked Cole.

“My g—” Jade stopped and cleared her throat, going even redder. “My friend.” She shoved Jay’s bag at him and took hers back. “I'm just gonna go unpack now.”

“Show Cole, Jay, and Zane to their rooms, please,” Sensei requested.

“Yes, Sensei.”

Jade led the three inside and let them work out among themselves who would have which room. She went into her own room and unpacked. Hanging up sweaters, rolling up yoga pants, folding socks, it was all routine to her. Unfortunately, she would have to share a bathroom with the others. She carefully organized her shoes on the floor of her closet and then made her bed.

It was then that she really let herself think about the situation. Jade sat down on her bed and buried her face in her hands. Her mom and stepdad were both dead. Her brother was in the hands of the Skeletons. She was supposed to become the Bronze Ninja. All in one day, and here she was, too numb to even cry. Tears did prick at her eyes, but they wouldn't fall.

A knock sounded on her door. Jade’s head whipped up. “Come in.”

Jay poked his head in. “Zane wants to know if you have any food allergies,” he said.

Jade was tempted to quote Parks and Rec, but she resisted the urge and instead shook her head.

“Are you okay?” Jay asked.

Jade shrugged. “A lot has happened today.”

Jay hesitated. “Do you need a hug, or something?”

Do you need a hug? That reminded Jade. “I think I’ll pass on the hug,” she said.

Jay nodded and closed the door again. Jade reached into her purse and took out her phone to call Geode. She didn't pick up. Jade looked at the time. Of course she wouldn't. It was past eleven.

Jade left a text and then lay back on her bed, exhausted from the day’s events. Seventeen years old and responsible for training the new generation of Ninjas, who would in turn be responsible for all Ninjago. And college classes on top of that. She rubbed her eyes and got up to put on a pair of pajamas.

 _It’s been a long day_ was her last tangible thought before she fell asleep. 


	3. Time for Training

Jade woke up at around seven o'clock the next morning and momentarily forgot where she was. Then she remembered: she'd left college to start training with Ninjas.

 _Gods, what a weird sentence_ , she thought. She swung her legs out of bed and got up, stretching. Just as she did, her phone started buzzing on her nightstand.

Jade picked it up as soon as she registered Geode’s name on the screen. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” Geode returned. “You all moved in?”

“Yep.” Jade ran a hand through her hair. “I met three of the others last night.”

“Three? And you're training all of them?”

“Helping,” Jade corrected. “More likely than not they're just gonna have trial-and-error training. I’ll just be there to give examples and correct them where it’s needed.”

“Right. So what are they like?”

Jade grimaced. “Too early to tell. One of them’s Cole; he seems alright I guess. Then there's Zane, who's pretty quiet as far as I’ve noticed. And also Jay, who’s like four foot six and really enthusiastic. How were classes yesterday?”

“Boring without you there,” Geode said. “But we got a new sub in History.”

“Another one? What happened to Mr. Clouse?” Jade asked.

“Maybe we were just too much to handle,” Geode joked. “But no, I think he just got tired of us. The new sub said something about him going back to his island. I dunno; I wasn't paying attention. Let me know how training goes, aight?”

“You got it, Geode,” said Jade. “Talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

Jade hung up and tossed her phone onto her bed. Then she grabbed her favorite pair of workout pants and hoodie, and left for the kitchen, where Zane was already making breakfast.

“Good morning, Jade,” he greeted her. “How do you take your eggs?”

“Scrambled is fine,” Jade replied, reaching into the cupboard for a coffee mug. “I'm not all that picky.”

She made her coffee and sat at the counter with Jay. “Morning,” he said. She returned the greeting.

A few minutes later, Cole entered the kitchen, too. Jade drained the rest of her coffee and got up to make another cup. “Great, we’re all here. As I'm sure you've all realized by now, your training to become the next generation of Ninjas starts today. I'm not entirely sure what my role in your training will be yet, but know I'll be there to help all of you.”

“Have you trained before?” asked Zane.

“Yeah, for four years now,” said Jade.

“She will play a pivotal role in your training,” came Sensei’s voice from the hallway. Jade bowed respectfully with a “Good morning, Sensei.” The other three Ninjas quickly followed suit.

“Good morning, students,” said Wu. “I hope you are all ready to begin your training.”

“I know I am,” said Jay. “This is gonna be so cool!”

“No, _not_ cool,” Jade said. “Dangerous. _Extremely_ dangerous. Especially when it's not training anymore.”

“Uh, _when_?” said Cole.

“You didn't fully explain, did you?” Jade asked Wu. He looked like a deer caught in headlights, so Jade took that as a no. She sighed. “Do you care if I do?”

“…go ahead.”

Jade turned toward the other three. “The four of us and one other person are supposed to be the new Masters of Spinjitzu. What that means, is we become the protectors of Ninjago. We’re responsible for keeping the peace.”

“A bunch of _teenagers_?” said Cole dumbfoundedly. “That's just a recipe for disaster.”

“I'm glad you see the scale of the problem,” Jade said cooly. “But with proper training, I’m sure you three and the last Ninja will prove to be…sufficient, at least. If we had _time_ for proper training, that is. Now, who’s ready to get started?”

“Yeah!” Jay cheered.

“Uh, after breakfast, right?” said Cole.

Jade rolled her eyes. “Yes, Cole. After breakfast.”

~0~0~0~

Cole’s head was still spinning, even half an hour later, when Jade took all three of them into the courtyard to start training. She looked ready to go, with her long blonde hair tied into a braided bun but her feet bare.

The old dude, Sensei Wu, started a stopwatch, and off Jade went. She did a series of flips and hand springs over a slew of planks that moved up and down, and Cole couldn't help but think about what his dad’s face would have looked like seeing it. Next Jade dodged a bunch of swords that would have impaled her if she wasn't so fast, followed by a collection of spinning pillars covered with smaller horizontal poles that she leapt through with ease. Then, for the last part of the course, she knocked through a series of dummies and then flipped onto the center of the courtyard, not even a bit ruffled.

“Excellent example, Jade,” said Sensei as the other three gaped at her. “And that was a new record for you.”

“Oh, really?” Jade said nonchalantly, opening a Gatorade. “What was my time?”

“Fifteen point six.”

“Nice.”

Jay squeaked. “You mean we have to do _that_?”

“That's how I trained,” Jade said with a shrug. Maybe it was Cole’s imagination, but he would have sworn that her eyes flashed green. “Go on, take a stab at it.”

Jay shot her a worried look and shuffled forward. He gingerly stepped onto one of the planks, which shot him into the air. Jade calmly stepped to the side and caught him neatly.

“You'll have to be quicker than that,” she said, setting him on the ground.

Jay’s face went sheepishly pink, and Zane stepped up. He got farther than Jay, but slipped on one of the planks and fell flat on his face. Cole didn't even make it past the third plank before it launched him skyward like Jay.

Jade caught Cole, too. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

“It's okay that none of you made it past the planks,” she said after dropping Cole. “I didn't expect you to. In fact, I would have been shocked if you had. It's just your first day. Tomorrow, you'll all try again. And in the meantime, I’ll be here to help.”

But the next day wasn't a lot better. All three of them got farther than they had previously, but none of them made it past the planks. Cole could tell that Jade was trying her best to be patient with them, but there were more than a few times that she lost it.

“Well, maybe if you were using _the technique I showed you_ you wouldn't be having this problem,” she snapped at Cole when he fell off the course for the third time that day. He noticed her eyes again — dark bluish violet.

“It’s the second day!” Cole argued. “What’s the big rush?”

She muttered something under her breath — was that _Chinese_? — and then, her eyes going more and more violently purple, said, “The _big rush_ is that my _brother_ , who is _ten_ , is in the hands of the Skeletons, and the only way I’ll be able to save him is with the lot of you. So quit whining, and let's go! We've got training to do!”

Everyone worked a little harder after that.

But even two months later, the farthest anyone had gotten was surprisingly Jay, who had gotten a black eye from one of the dummies and was still grinning about it. After getting Jay a bag of frozen peas for his eye, Jade disappeared inside for a few minutes. She came outside with something folded over her arm.

“I've been working on this for months,” she told them, spreading the thing on the ground. It was a small sunshine-yellow square of cloth, carefully embroidered with a gold Chinese symbol — 光.

“Guāng,” she explained. “My mom’s maiden name. I was making this for her birthday, but… well, you know.”

Her eyes went through a flurry of blues before settling on dark turquoise. She took a deep breath and continued. “Anyway, this has taken a long time. But take a look. What’s it all made of?”

“Uh, thread?” said Jay.

“Exactly.” Jade nodded curtly. “All of this started out with just a single thread. Even cloth has to be woven from millions of threads. That's what you guys are now — thread. But with time, you gather more and more threads, and eventually you'll be like this… uh, for lack of a better term, tapestry. Do you understand?”

The other three nodded. Jade carefully folded the tapestry again and stood up. “Good, because I was totally making that up as I went along. Everyone rest up. We’ll continue training tomorrow.”

~0~0~0~

Something felt different about the next day. It wasn't quite dawn yet, but when Jade opened the door to the courtyard to get in some of her own training time, she saw Cole training with one of the scythes from the weapons shed. But he abruptly stopped when he noticed her.

“Jade!” He tried in vain to hide the scythe behind his back. “I, uh—”

“Don't,” she advised. “It's all right. You're actually pretty good. But you need to widen your grip a little more. And your stance.”

Jade took the scythe and demonstrated. “Like this. See?” She gave the weapon back to him. “Now you try.”

Cole copied her stance and attacked the row of practice dummies. Jade nodded. “Good job. Now how about you try sparring with a real person?”

Cole gaped at her. “Wha— This is an actual weapon! I could kill you!”

“You could try,” Jade shrugged, taking a single silver knife from the weapons shed. “But you'll have to catch me first.”

“This doesn't seem fair,” Cole argued even as they got into position. “A scythe against a teeny-tiny knife?”

“You would be surprised,” Jade said. “Ready? Go!”

Cole launched forward, scythe blazing, but Jade quickly jumped to the side. Her foot swung out, catching Cole’s ankle and tripping him. She slid forward, looping around his shoulders, and her blade pressed against his throat.

“Remember what I said about widening your stance?” she said.

“Uh-huh.”

“Next time, take my advice.”

“Uh-huh.”

Jade released him. “I would work on that if I were you,” she said. She exchanged the silver knife for a real sword, hip-checking the door to the shed closed, and then started her own training.

~0~0~0~

Two hours later, it was time for the test. The air seemed to be charged with electricity as Jay stepped up. Over the months he hadn't grown an inch, but had built up a decent amount of muscle. Even so, he still got knocked out by the same dummy as yesterday. Jade got him another bag of frozen veggies and came back in time to see Zane come within inches of finishing the course before also getting knocked out by a dummy.

Next up was Cole. He had a look of pure determination on his face that immediately raised Jade’s expectations. Off he went, springing over the planks, around the swords, through the pillars, and then straight through the dummies. He landed in the middle of the courtyard, looking almost shocked at the fact that he had made it.

Jade, Jay, and Zane all cheered. “Excellent work, Cole!” said Sensei. “Jay and Zane, I hope the two of you can prove to do it just as well. Good luck to you both.”

As Sensei went back inside, Jade high-fived Cole. “Awesome job!” she said. “But don't start getting lazy. You still have a long way to go. Now, Jay, Zane, today I was thinking we could work on this…”

~0~0~0~

Before the end of the week, Zane and Jay had both managed to complete the course, too. But since Cole was the only legal adult in the group, they weren't able to go out and do anything actually fun. But the four of them had a good time, eating pizza while Jay destroyed them all in Super Smash Bros. Jade got him back in Halo 2, though.

No, training wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

But for now, even if for just one night, Jade felt like she could relax. 


	4. Way of the Ninja

Jade’s _Phantom_ soundtrack paused for about two seconds, then resumed. This could mean one of two things: either her earbuds were starting to break, or someone was texting her. Given that these particular earbuds had cost thirty coin, Jade _really_ hoped it was the latter.

Jade quickly completed the rest of the course and jumped off, heading for a shady spot to figure out what happened. She was right; it was a text message.

The message was just six words, from Wu: _I found the master of fire._

“You lot can handle yourselves for right now, right?” Jade asked Cole, Jay, and Zane. Without waiting for an answer, she went inside the monastery.

Jade paused her music at a regrettably good part — the very beginning of the title song — and found Wu in his study. “You found them?”

“Yes,” said Wu. “Unfortunately, the Master of Fire I was looking for has already passed, but he had two children, one of whom inherited his powers. I will, of course, need your help in training the new Master of Fire as soon as possible—”

“What about the others?” Jade interrupted.

“Others?”

“It’s been two and a half months, Sensei,” Jade pointed out. “They’re gonna be pretty dang wary of a sudden new member.”

“You’re right,” said Wu. “What should we do about them?”

Jade thought about it. “I think I might have an idea.”

~0~0~0~

“A camping trip?”

The three other Ninjas all stared at Wu as if he had suddenly started speaking another language.

“Yes, a camping trip,” Wu said. “An essential trust-building exercise for any team. I expect the three of you to return as an unstoppable force. Understood?”

“Three of us?” Jay repeated. “Jade, are you not coming?”

“Are you joking?” Jade said, taking a swig of coffee. “It’s finals week. TBH, sending y’all off on a camping trip was my idea so I could get some darn peace and quiet.”

Not a total lie. It was her idea, though she had already finished finals the previous week. Easy as cake, but hopefully Jade’s new teammates wouldn’t see through the untrue parts.

“Jade is right,” Zane said. “Final exams are often a stressful time for a college student. She will need all the peace and quiet she can get.”

“Thank you, Zane,” Jade said, smiling at him. “Trust me, you all are gonna have way more fun than I’m going to.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Cole said. “Finals suck.”

“You can say that again,” Jade sighed. “You guys have fun, all right? I’ll be here, running on caffeine and spite.”

All three of them laughed at that, and in another twenty minutes they were gone.

Jade looked at Wu. “So, are we walking to Ignacia, or are we taking my car?”

~0~0~0~

“And you’re sure this is the place?” Jade asked, casting a glance around the village.

“Absolutely positive,” Wu told her, nodding solemnly. “This is where we will find the Master of Fire.”

Jade took a breath. “Okay. What do you want me to do?”

“I am unsure which of the two is the Master of Fire,” Sensei admitted. “But a few minutes with them should be proficient to tell, correct?”

“Should be,” Jade agreed. “And the other would be a Master of Water, right?”

“Right.”

“But we don’t need a Master of Water yet, right?”

“Not at the moment, no.” Sensei looked at a small blacksmith shop ahead. The sign above was painted with an image of five weapons: a scythe, a sword, a knife, a pair of nunchucks, and a shurikan.

Jade and Wu went inside, seeing a boy at the anvil and a girl at the counter. The girl caught Jade's eye and waved, grinning. Jade's heart skipped a beat. She had short black hair, smooth light brown skin, and brown eyes with flecks of blue and red. She wore a short red dress and maroon leggings.

The boy was obviously her brother, with the same skin and eyes, though his didn't have any of the blue. One eye had a scar shaped like an upside-down Y over it. His hair was brown and spiked like an anime protagonist, and he wore a white shirt and jeans and a blacksmith's apron. His ear was pierced with what looked like a carefully hand-crafted earring shaped like twin swords crossed in an X.

They were both very attractive, Jade had to admit. She wouldn't mind either of them being the last Ninja.

The brother noticed her looking and hastily dropped a crooked sword on the ground behind him with a clang. His cheekbones flared a slight pink, and Jade stifled a chuckle. “Uh, welcome to Five Weapons,” he said quickly, looking between her and Wu. “Can we help you find something?”

“Oh, we’re just looking,” Jade said vaguely. “Although…”

She stepped a little closer toward him nonchalantly. “A lot of the stuff around the shop seems more like the kinda tools a Samurai would use,” she observed, looking around at the clunky armor and the large swords. “Do you have anything for a Ninja?”

“I — uh — um,” he stammered, going redder. Jade could quite literally feel heat radiating from him, and knew right then that he was the one they were looking for. “I, uh — I think I might have something.”

While his back was turned, Jade looked at Wu and gave the slightest nod of her head, then looked back at the blacksmith boy.

He handed her a thin silver katana. “You know, you're a long way from finding any Ninjas around here,” he said. Jade raised her eyebrow. “Um, _other_ Ninjas, that is.” He stopped, going red again. “I'm Kai, by the way. Kai Smith.”

“Jade Guang.” She shook his hand. “And other Ninjas are closer than you would think.”

“Yeah?” Kai smirked, and his attractiveness went down by about twenty percent. “How close?”

Jade opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, the sky outside grew suddenly dark. Given the fact that it was only four PM, without a cloud in sight, Jade knew there could only be one reason why.

“You’ll see,” Jade said instead and ran outside.

Sure enough, three trucks had appeared over the hill, the middle truck piloted by someone she was absolutely _dying_ to introduce to her blade.

Samukai.

Wind started to blow around the shop, whipping Jade’s hair around dramatically. Wind was her friend, but the darkness that had settled was not. But fire always glowed brighter in the darkness, so hopefully Kai would prove to be a semi-decent help, despite his obvious annoyingness.

The Skeletons attacked. Jade blocked any of them who came near her from getting to the shop in an effort to protect Kai and his sister. Where the heck was Wu, though?

Unfortunately, the first person who came to her aid was Kai. “Just a tip, these things are unkillable,” Jade told him before knocking the skull off one Skeleton.

“Noted,” Kai replied, kicking another away. “What are we supposed to do about them, then?”

“Keep them away from the shop,” Jade said. “These things are a fan of fire.”

“Have you fought them before?”

“No, but let’s just say I’ve had unpleasant experiences and leave it at that.”

Within another two minutes, Jade and Kai had split up, each taking a different side of the store front. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Kai’s sister had joined him in the fight, while Wu had joined on Jade’s side of the shop. Jade’s sword struck through a Skeleton’s ribcage, and when she looked up, she saw that Kai had bitten off way more than he could chew.

He was facing off against the six-armed Samukai.

Jade ran toward them, knocking Kai out of the way and back towards what had been her side of the battlefield. She dodged six simultaneous blows from Samukai and retaliated with a slash from her borrowed katana. Samukai only barely managed to avoid getting his spine slashed in half.

“You have heart, girl,” Samukai observed as Jade blocked a strike. “Your father would be proud.”

“My father?” Jade froze, and then angrily lunged at Samukai. _“What do you know about my father?!”_

But her blows became erratic and frantic; she couldn't manage to land one. As she made to strike again, arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the battle.

“Let me _go_!” she shouted, hitting back with her elbow and catching her captor in the gut. She was released with an “Oomph!” It was Kai’s voice, but Jade didn't have time to reflect on that. She had to get to Samukai.

But it was too late. Samukai had returned to the Skeletruck. “Lord Garmadon said to take the girl!” she heard him say. Jade’s head whipped around to see the shopkeeper girl being wrapped in a grappling hook shaped like a skeleton’s hand.

“Nya!” Jade heard Kai scream behind her.

“Kai!”

Kai ran forward, his sword drawn, but the Skeletruck was already gone.

“They…they took my sister,” was all he seemed to be able to say.

“Well, thank you, Captain Obvious,” Jade snapped. “What was that back there? I was handling it!”

“Not from where I was standing,” Kai said in the same tone, whirling around to face her. “And I think it was called _saving your life_.”

“He had information, Yu-Gi-Oh. You couldn't have waited _five minutes_?!”

“What information could he have possibly had?” Kai demanded, rolling his eyes. “He was about to slice you in half!”

“I've been training for this for _four years_!” Jade yelled. “You don't know _anything_ about me!”

“I know that you were about to die! What else was I supposed to do?”

“Well, gee, I don't know,” Jade said sarcastically. “Maybe instead of trying to save a girl who can handle herself, you could have been there to keep your sister from getting kidnapped by a bunch of Skeletons!”

“Jade!” reprimanded Wu, finally deciding to interfere. “That's enough!”

“Well maybe,” said Kai, anger seeming to get the better of him, “I wouldn't have had to save you if you had been focusing on the task at hand instead of your daddy issues!”

Jade stepped forward, ready to slap the heck out of him. Kai’s eyes went suddenly wide and he scrambled backwards.

“Yeah, sure thing, scaredy-cat,” Jade said. “That’s a lesson to ya — mess with the rose, you get the thorns.”

“Dude, your _eyes_ ,” Kai said. “They were literally _red_.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Change the subject. My eyes don’t turn red, idiot.”

“Obviously they do, ‘cuz they did.”

“Both of you, that’s enough,” Wu said, stepping between them. “Arguments will not get either of you anywhere.”

“Sensei!” Jade remembered suddenly. “Samukai said something about Lord Garmadon!”

“Yes, I heard him,” Wu said heavily. “If he is involved—”

“Who is Samukai?” asked Kai. “And who’s Lord Garmadon?”

Jade and Wu exchanged a look. “It’s a long story,” Jade sighed.

Wu told the story of how Ninjago came to be, and the origins of the Golden Weapons. Most of it Jade had heard before, except for one thing that Wu mentioned about the location of the map….

“Sensei, you never said anything about the map being here,” Jade said. “Shouldn’t that have been important?”

“So you…didn’t come for the map?” Kai asked.

Sensei shook his head. “We came for something much more important: you.”

“Me?”

“You’re the Master of Fire,” Jade explained. “We have to train you to harness that power and become the Red Ninja.”

Kai’s eyes narrowed. “Nice try, but I’m not going to get involved in your family rivalry. I’m gonna go get my sister back.”

“You don’t get it, idiot,” Jade said as he started to walk away. “Where those things went, a mortal can’t go. Skeletons are from the _Underworld_. Good luck getting there on foot.”

Kai ignored her and kept walking. Jade jumped and flipped through the air, knocking him down. “Nice try,” she said in an imitation of his voice. “You couldn’t face off against me with both hands tied behind my back. How the heck do you think you’ll manage against Garmadon?”

“Jade, let him up,” Wu said.

Jade smirked and got off Kai, who simply glared at her. “So what do you say?” Jade said. “Still want to try and save your sister on your lonesome? Or are you coming with us?”

Kai crossed his arms. “Fine,” he said. “I’m coming.”

“Great!” Jade grinned wickedly. “You can ride in the backseat.”

~0~0~0~

Two hours later, they were back at the monastery, and training began. Kai was about as good as Jay was his first day — which was to say, awful. Jade started by teaching how to properly wield a sword.

Second day was significantly better. Kai was a faster learner than any of the others. Maybe he could master the course within a few weeks.

Jade would be the first to admit that she probably didn’t motivate Kai the same she had with the others. With him, it was largely negative reinforcement. Not that she cared. To her, every insult she hurled at him was revenge for the information she could have gotten from Samukai.

It seemed to work a lot better, anyway. Within two weeks, Kai had successfully completed the training course, which despite Jade’s absolute loathing of anything to do with Kai at the moment, she couldn't help but be impressed by.

She didn't even have to pull out the tapestry.


	5. The Golden Weapons

Sam _really_ needed to learn to watch where he was going.

This was his third escape attempt, and yet he still managed to literally run right into one of the darn Skulkin. This time, he managed to have the misfortune to run straight into Samukai.

“Again?” was the only thing Samukai had to say. Sam noticed he had someone else wrapped up in three of his bony arms, a girl around his sister’s age. Sam got scooped up in Samukai’s other three arms and carried off.

“He got you, too, huh?” the girl asked.

Sam shrugged the best he could with his arms pinned to his sides. “I still don't think it was a fair fight. I haven't even started training yet.”

“Training for what?”

“Both of you, quiet,” Samukai snapped.

“Make us,” the girl challenged.

“Yeah!”

Samukai was resolutely silent for the rest of the trip.

He deposited them both on the floor of Lord Garmadon’s throne room a few minutes later. “My Lord, I brought the Fire Ninja’s sister, as you asked. And the Bronze Ninja’s sister escaped again—”

“Brother,” Lord Garmadon corrected for like the fourth time since Sam had been here, which Sam was still not used to. Garmadon may be evil, but at least he respected Sam’s pronouns. “And I can see that, Samukai. Just make sure they're both taken care of.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Minutes later Sam and his new acquaintance were back in Sam’s old cell.

“So, how many times have you tried to escape?” she asked.

“That was my third time,” Sam admitted. “I waited for a while. I thought my sister was going to come and save me. But she hasn't come.”

Sam bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep his lower lip from quivering. “I’m Sam, by the way,” he added. “Sam Watterson.”

“Nya Smith.” They shook hands. “Tell you what, Sam. You tell me about your sister, and I’ll tell you about my brother.”

Sam smiled a little. “Okay. Well, my sister…”

~0~0~0~

“You're joking.”

Kai wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

“Nope,” said Jade. “This is Kai. The fifth member of our team.”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” the redhead, Jay, interrupted. “You didn't say anything about having a fifth member. It's always four! The Fantastic Four, the Incredibles, the Ghostbusters, One Direction—”

“Dude, don't even give me that!” said Jade. “I was talking about a fifth member from the beginning! Plus, One Direction started with five. And something tells me that our Zane isn't going anywhere. Also, if you include Jack-Jack, the Incredibles have five members too. And there's also the Guardians of the Galaxy, *NSYNC, the Scooby Doo gang—”

“Okay, we get it,” said the big one. Jade stuck her tongue out at him. He returned the gesture. “What Jay was trying to say, Sensei, is that the four of us trained together. We're solid. We know how dumb Jay's jokes can get, or how scary Jade can be at first—”

“Kai can catch up, right, Kai?” Jade interrupted.

Kai stared at her, his eyes going a little wide. Her eyes sparked green with humor.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, kid,” the big one said, turning to Kai. “Name’s Cole. And for the record, there ain't nothing in this world I'm afraid of.”

“Except dragons,” Jay pointed out. Cole scowled.

“I said _in_ this world, Jay. Dragons aren't from this world.”

“ _At any rate_ , each of you have been chosen,” interrupted Sensei Wu, “each with Elemental powers. Ninja, go!”

Sensei spun into a golden tornado that passed next to each of them, changing their clothes into matching uniforms of different colors.

“Hang on, I’m still in black,” Cole said.

“That's because you're the Ninja of Earth,” Jade said.

“Ooh, what about me?” asked Jay. “What's my element?”

“Lightning. Duh.”

“Sweet!”

The one who was now wearing white finally spoke. “Sensei, what is my power?”

“You are the Master of Ice, Zane,” said Sensei.

Kai already knew his power was fire, so instead he stepped forward. “That's all fine and dandy, but what about my sister?”

“Ooh! We’re saving a girl?” said Jay, suddenly interested. “Is she hot?”

“Jay!” Jade reprimanded.

“Oh, don't pretend, Jade, we all know you were thinking the same thing!” Jay retorted.

“Yeah, but you don't need to say it!” Jade paused. “She is very attractive, though.”

“Back off,” Kai said sourly to both of them.

“You five must learn to all work together,” said Sensei with a pointed look at Jade.

“What are you looking at _me_ for?!”

“Jade, you are to lead by example,” said Sensei. “Just because you have been here the longest does not mean you are entitled to anything more than they are.”

“Even if I’m probably the one who’s gonna be driving us to the Caves of Despair?”

“The caves of _what_ , now?” said Jay.

“The location of the first Golden Weapon,” said Sensei. “And…yes, it would be wonderful if you would drive us all.”

~0~0~0~

Jade's car, as it turned out, did fit all six of them…but only barely.

Jay, the smallest, was sitting up front with Jade and Sensei, while Kai was crammed into the back seat between Zane and Cole. Jade had her phone plugged into the speakers. She had weird music taste that went from Halsey to Lindsey Sterling to Lin-Manuel Miranda to the _Harry Potter_ soundtrack.

The other three seemed used to her weird taste, and they sang along with her to most of the songs that required singing. “You can jump in whenever you feel like it, Kai,” Jade said in a tone that made Kai never want to jump in, ever.

“I'm fine, thanks,” he muttered.

She shrugged, smirking at him in the rear view mirror.

Half of the _Moana_ soundtrack later, Jade parked the car under a tree and turned off the engine. “We’re here,” she announced. “Everyone be absolutely silent.”

The others didn't need to be told twice. Jade locked her car with a low click, and the six of them crept toward the edge of a low-set cavern.

“The Caves of Despair,” Sensei said in a low whisper. “Samukai must be close to unearthing the Scythe of Quakes.”

That was enough for Kai. He slipped off on his own, keeping out of sight of the rest of the Skeletons. He caught sight of a high wooden tower, where the six-armed Skeleton who took his sister was studying the map of the five Golden Weapons. He scaled the tower silently, and a few seconds later, the rest of the Ninjas joined him.

Jay smacked the back of Kai’s head and hissed, “What’s the matter with you?”

It hurt a surprising amount more than Kai would have thought, given the blue Ninja’s size. Kai shushed him.

Beneath them, Samukai chuckled to himself and set down the map to observe the other Skeletons.

“It’s upside down!” Jade realized in a whisper. “Those idiots are digging in the wrong spot!”

Zane tossed down a shurikan tied to a rope and retrieved the map. Kai took a quick look at it and whispered, “There’s no time to waste.” Then he ran off again, expecting the others to follow him.

They met back up again at a giant boulder that hid the entrance to the Scythe’s hiding spot. “Hey, before you race off again, you gotta remember—we’re a team,” Jade snapped, glaring at Kai. She and Cole stepped forward and helped Kai move the boulder.

Inside, the Scythe of Quakes was mounted on a pedestal shaped like a dragon’s head.

“Ohh! This is so cool!” Jay said loudly.

“Keep it down, will you?” Jade hissed.

“Chill, we’re on the other side of the caves,” Jay said easily. “Quit being so paranoid!”

Vaguely Kai recalled something Sensei had said about a guardian, but since Kai didn't see any guardian he figured they were safe and didn't mention it.

Cole took the Scythe off its pedestal and wrapped it in a cloth, then handed it to Kai. “Jade’s right. Just zip it, okay?” he said to Jay. “Now that we've got the Scythe, let’s just sneak out while those boneheads are still busy.”

The five teens exited the cavern, naturally right into Samukai and the rest of the Skeletons. Five sets of weapons were simultaneously drawn.

Jade ran forward with a “Ninja, go!” Immediately she was enveloped in a metallic tornado like Sensei’s, but hers was bronze. She knocked through a whole legion of Skeletons and rejoined the other four, who all gaped at her.

“How did you do that?” Jay demanded.

“Remember what Sensei said, you're not entitled to anything more than we are!” Kai said, knocking away a Skeleton who tried to take the Scythe on his back.

“Entitled? Yeah, right! I taught you guys _exactly_ how to do this!” Jade said crossly. “All of you already know it! It's just like the training course!”

As if to illustrate her point, she spun into another tornado. Jay suddenly clapped with excitement.

“She’s right! It _is_ like the training course!” Jay did a series of flips through a bunch of Skeletons. “Over the planks, dodge the swords, here comes the dummy!”

Sparks started to fly from him, and within a few more seconds, Jay too was enveloped in an electric blue tornado.

Jade was one thing; she'd been training for years. But if Jay could do it, so could Kai. _Over the planks, dodge the swords, here comes the dummy!_

Kai’s vision went reddish-orange, and he knew he had done it. He saw Zane and Cole start up their own tornadoes and felt a surge of confidence.

“Retreat!” yelled Samukai.

The Skeletons didn't need to be told twice. They all scampered toward the exit.

Five multicolored tornadoes released five multicolored teens. “Ha-ha, _yeah_!” said Jade, high-fiving Cole. “How’s that for my first mission as team leader!”

“That was awesome!” Jay agreed. “Now let’s get the Scythe back to Sensei.”

A low rumble made all five of them pause. They turned slowly to see that the Scythe’s pedestal…wasn't just a pedestal.

“Oh,” said Kai in a small voice. “So _that’s_ what Sensei was talking about....”

Cole let out a strangled whimper. “D-d-d-d-d—”

The guardian roared loudly. “DRAGOOOOOON!” screamed five voices.

“Everyone scatter!” yelled Jade. Luckily, everyone listened to her, because where they had been just a moment before was now being engulfed in brownish flames.

The dragon reared its head back and attacked again. Cole had to flatten himself against the wall to avoid getting blasted by the fire.

Kai looked down at the Scythe in his hands, then back up at the dragon.

“Don't use that! Remember what Sensei said; it's too powerful for mortals!” Jay pleaded.

Then Kai caught Jade’s eye. Her eyes flashed purple in a way that clearly said, _Boy, don't do it._ She mouthed, _Don't you dare._

“Well, then, you better keep your mouth shut,” Kai said to Jay, and slammed the Scythe into the ground.

“ _Oh_ my gods!” Jade yelled. “Kai, you _idiot_!”

But Kai’s improvisation was working. In the resulting earthquake, a stone fell from the ceiling and onto the dragon’s head. The dragon scampered, but now the Ninjas were stuck in a quickly-crumbling cave.

“This…was not thought out very well,” Kai admitted.

“No duh, Sherlock,” Jade snapped. She snatched Cole’s scythe from his back, looped it around the other four, and yanked them all back. “Come on, newbs! Let’s get out of here!”

She shoved the four of them onto a ledge and clambered after them. Behind them, the dragon roared, ready for round two. “Go, go, go! Move it, people!” Jade yelled, interlocking her fingers. One by one, she boosted them through a hole in the ceiling. Kai reached in and pulled her through. He must have pulled a little too hard, because next thing he knew she launched out of the ceiling hole and the two of them fell backwards.

This was the second time she had had him pinned, but there was definitely nothing remotely intimate in the murderous look she was giving him. Kai tried for a smile.

“What. The heck. Did I _tell you_!” she yelled, getting off him and pulling him roughly to his feet. “Are you trying to prove something? Do you think you're more important than all the rest of us? Just because your sister got kidnapped by a bunch of Skeletons does _not_ make you special! Just like _I'm_ not special because I've been training the longest! We are a _team_ , Kai! So get your act together and start acting like it!”

It would have hurt less if she had slapped him. She snatched the Scythe out of his hands and gave it to Sensei.

“Do I want to know what happened down there?” Sensei asked.

“Probably not,” Jade said sourly. “But there are still four Weapons left. Maybe next time, we can do it right.”


	6. King of Shadows

Jade was an incredible mystery, and Kai’s interest was piqued.

She had told him next to nothing about herself, and only seemed to hate him more and more each day. But that wouldn't stop Kai from trying to learn more about her.

On the next part of their mission to find the Golden Weapons, Kai decided to start by asking the others. “So, uh, what’s her story?” he asked Cole quietly.

Cole took a long time to answer. Finally, softly enough so that no one else would hear, he said, “None of us actually know everything about Jade. Sometimes I feel like she doesn't know everything herself. But I’ll tell you what I do know.

“I know that Jade is her middle name, and that she doesn't like people calling her by her first name. I know her parents never actually got married, but her dad was around until she was four, and then he disappeared. She still doesn't know what happened to him.”

“Samukai mentioned her father,” Kai recalled. “It was probably just a taunt to distract her, but it worked really well. She was really upset when I dragged her away from the fight before she could get hurt.”

“Oh, so _that’s_ why she seems to hate you,” said Cole. Kai shot him a glare. “What? She’s really touchy when it comes to her family. And, really, can you blame her? Her mother and stepfather are dead, she's got no idea who her father even _was_ , and her brother’s been in the hands of the Skeletons for months. It bugs her when she’s not able to be there for her family.”

Kai stared at Jade, who was steering the ship. He was more than a little awed at how she was holding up. Then he started feeling bad. At least Kai knew he could save his sister soon. She had been waiting to save her brother for months.

She caught him looking and her eyes suddenly flashed violently purple. A single golden eyebrow lifted in a gesture that clearly said _Is there a problem?_ Kai looked away quickly.

“She’s been training longer than any of us have,” Cole was saying. “She helped train all of us. Without her, I don't know if any of us could have learned Spinjitzu as fast as we did.”

“I know I wouldn't have,” said Kai.

“Right,” Cole agreed. “She can be mean, and intimidating, and really, _really_ scary, but overall she's pretty great.”

“Her eyes are weird,” Kai noted. “They change color.”

“Yeah, with her emotions,” Cole said. “She's pretty much an open book when it comes to how she’s feeling. Great poker face, but her eyes always give it away.”

“They turned red when she was yelling at me once,” Kai said, dropping his voice even more. “Only for like half a second, but it freaked me out. She looked almost… _evil_.”

Cole shook his head. “Nah. Jade doesn't have an ounce of evil in her body. Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you.”

“I know what I saw, Cole,” Kai said sourly. “They were _red_.”

“Alright, Kai.” Kai could tell Cole didn't believe him. Luckily, Kai didn't have to respond, because a loud rumble announced their arrival at the Ice Caves.

Jade spun the steering wheel to get the ship parallel to the first gate and threw the lever to drop anchor like it was no big deal. Kai felt his heart skip a beat. Girls who could probably crush him was _definitely_ his type. He suppressed the thought. He had no idea whether or not she liked guys, so best not drift into that territory for now.

Kai and Cole moved the gangplank into place, and the five Ninjas started off toward the caves. Luckily, any Skeletons they encountered were all frozen in blocks of ice. Casting a wary glance at the Skeletons, Kai followed the other four further into the cave.

They found the Shurikans of Ice suspended in midair under another dragon “statue.” Zane was able to reach them with just one jump, but the second he touched them, he froze in a block of ice like the ones that coated the Skeletons behind them. Almost immediately, the dragon woke up.

Four Ninjas picked up the fifth and high-tailed it out of there. “Through here!” said Jade, gesturing toward a thin arch that would easily fit them, but definitely not the dragon. They sprinted through the arch and then out the exit.

Next came another, longer journey to yet another set of caves, these ones apparently underground. Jade kept at the steering wheel, staring straight ahead at the horizon. Kai approached her carefully. She didn't say anything, but her jaw clenched and her eyes went a deep purple.

“What do _you_ want?” she spat.

“To apologize.”

Jade slipped and let go of the wheel. The boat lurched starboard and then righted itself. On the main deck, the frozen Zane that Cole and Jay were working on defrosting toppled, the ice shattering. Jay and Cole themselves slipped on the ice and also fell.

“Ja-ade!” complained Jay.

“Sorry!” Jade called. She looked back at Kai, her eyes a pale pearly green. “You want to what?”

“Apologize,” Kai repeated. “For the way I've been acting. I, uh, talked to Cole, and he told me about your brother.”

“He did, did he?”

“Among other things.” Kai rubbed the back of his neck. “A-at any rate, sorry for my attitude. We're a team, and you're right. I need to act like it.”

Jade sighed. “You're not the only rusty knife in the drawer. I haven't exactly been acting like a member of the team either. I've been…well, I've been a jerk.”

“Not without reason,” Kai said. “Cole, uh, told me about the whole thing with your dad. You really don't know who he was?”

“I can't remember much of him,” Jade said. “All I can remember is his eyes. They changed color, like mine, but without any of the blues and purples. I got that from my mom.”

The boat settled on a straight path. “We've got a while before we get to the Light Caverns,” Jade said. “I won't need to be at the wheel again for like another hour.”

Jade and Kai went down to the main deck with the others. Zane was still picking bits of ice off his gi, and Jay and Cole had gotten out a huge piece of paper. At first glance, Kai thought it was a map, but turned out they were just playing hangman.

Kai took a look at the game. The letters were filled in as _E_  _EL_E_.

“Red velvet,” Jade guessed.

Jay filled in the remainder of the letters and Cole groaned. “You were playing a type of _cake_ and I wasn't able to guess it?”

“Five points for Jade,” Jay said, creating an extra score tally column and filling in Jade's score.

“The most powerful move in Spinjitzu can only be accomplished when all six Elements are combined,” came Sensei’s voice randomly. Kai looked up to see Sensei jump down from his perch on the bow of the ship. “Earth. Ice. Lightning. Fire. Light and Wind.”

“What happens when all of them are combined?” asked Jay.

“The Tornado of Creation,” Sensei answered. “The power to create something out of nothing. But if done incorrectly, it can lead to disastrous consequences.”

Sensei’s gaze seemed to linger on Jade just a little bit. He might have been imagining it, but Kai could have sworn he saw Sensei’s eyes briefly flashing a deep shade of gold. Then they went back to their normal green. “The power of Creation is dangerous and unpredictable. It is best not to attempt it except in the most dire of circumstances,” Sensei finished.

There was a long silence. Then — “We’re getting close,” Jade said, taking a look at the oncoming shore. “I'm gonna go back to the wheel. Kai and Cole, can you two ready the gang plank again?”

Kai and Cole both nodded, and Jade went back up to the wheel. Within another few minutes, Jade got them close to the seaside cliffs, where a softly-glowing cave entrance sat prominent. It would have been easy to miss in the daylight, but luckily the sun had set an hour ago.

Jade dropped the anchor. Kai and Cole lowered the gangplank. The five Ninjas went inside.

The walls were covered with crystal formations like the inside of a geode. The crystals glowed with an ethereal light, and a gentle breeze flowed through the place.

The Knife of Light and Wind, like the other Golden Weapons, was mounted on a pedestal with a dragon statue. This dragon was positioned like it had been carved into the wall, but unlike the rock around it its scales were shiny bronze.

Staring up at the dragon, Jade approached the pedestal carefully and took the Knife off. The wind in the cavern started to blow more harshly and the dragon began to move, its scales beginning to glow.

“Run!” yelled Jade, pushing them toward the exit.

The bronze dragon roared loudly and attacked the five of them with white-hot fire. Kai yanked Jade away from the blast, accidentally slamming the both of them into the wall.

They _really_ needed to work on the whole ‘accidentally pinning each other’ thing.

Jade yanked Kai toward the other Ninjas, and they ran. They came to a fork in the tunnel. “Jay, Zane, Cole, down left!” Jade ordered. “Kai, with me!”

The Ninjas split up and Kai followed Jade down the right-side corridor. The dragon followed Kai and Jade. _Great._

But Jade seemed to know where she was going, and Kai trusted her. Jade dashed through a small doorway that somehow led to the other three. She shoved all four of them in a new direction, and then they were out.

“How did you do that?” Kai asked. “How did you know where to go?”

“I…don't know,” Jade said. “It felt like…the Knife was leading me.”

“I wonder if any of the rest of the Golden Weapons do that?” said Zane as they climbed up the gangplank.

“No clue,” Jade admitted. “But there's still two Weapons left. We can't let our guard down now.”

~0~0~0~

The next leg of the journey was by Jade’s car again. Jay had switched with Kai for this part of the trip; most likely, Jade believed, because he wanted to sit next to Cole.

All three of the Ninjas in the back seat, plus Sensei, had fallen asleep. Kai stayed awake with Jade. Probably because he had had some of her Monster and couldn't fall asleep.

“I can't believe it's almost over,” Kai said. “We only have two Weapons left to find, and then we can save our siblings.”

“Kai, even after we get Sam and Nya, it'll be far from over,” Jade said, looking over at him. “You're a Ninja. All of this? This is your life now. There'll be times when it seems like it's over, but it never really is.”

“Never?”

“Never.” Jade glanced in the rear view mirror at the three sleeping Ninjas. “The five of us, we’re the protectors of Ninjago. It's not the safest job, and oftentimes pretty dang scary, but we’re the only ones who can do this. We’re the only ones with this power. Do you understand?”

Kai was quiet, which Jade took as a yes. Then, he said, “Well, if I’m gonna be stuck with the four of you for the rest of my life, I might as well get to know you all, right?”

“Might as well,” Jade agreed. “So, what all do you want to know?”

Kai paused, considering it. “I suppose we can start with, ‘How many of the others like guys?’”

Jade laughed. “All of them. Cole’s gay, Jay’s bi, and Zane’s panromantic. Then there's me, a pansexual.”

Jade's GPS bleeped, indicating that they were only ten minutes away from the Floating Ruins. Grinning, Jade turned the volume of her music the highest it could go, and then switched the song to _Phantom of the Opera_ ’s title song.

“Cover your ears,” she warned Kai, and pressed play.

The opening chord blasted through the speakers, jolting three Ninjas and a Sensei awake simultaneously. “Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauties!” Jade called. “We’re almost there!”

She turned the volume back down as the actual singing began. _“In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came…”_

Turns out, Kai made an excellent Phantom. She hadn't heard him sing before on the way to the Caves of Despair, but now that he was right next to her she could hear him extremely well.

After the title song and then a round of the Bellas’ finals performance from the first _Pitch Perfect_ movie, they arrived at the Floating Ruins. Jay grabbed a backpack for each of them and they started toward the Ruins.

The Ruins were tethered to the ground with massive chains, which thankfully were easy enough to climb. Unfortunately, that also made it easy for the Skeletons to follow them. Jade looked down once to see them all only ten meters behind. “Go!” she urged the Ninjas, tugging a short silver sword from the sheath at her belt.

She kept a grip on the floating chains with one hand, and with the other did her best to keep the Skeletons at bay. She didn't see when Jay got the Nunchucks of Lightning, but did see a bright blue flash and heard a scream so she knew when it happened.

She knocked down one more Skeleton and then followed the rest of the Ninjas who jumped off the chain. Thanks to the backpacks that Jay brought for them, canvas wings sprouted on their backs and helped them glide safely to the ground.

There was one Weapon left.

Sensei agreed to let them make camp not far from the Temple of Fire. Jade rolled out her sleeping bag, took off her boots (they went up to her knees, why), and went directly to sleep for the first time in almost a day and a half.

She could have slept for a lot longer, but after about four hours, she woke up to someone whispering her name. “Jadie!”

There was exactly one person who called her that.

Jade’s eyes snapped open. “Sam?”

Her brother stood in the light of the dying embers of the fire that the other four had been building when Jade had gone to sleep. He smiled at her, and then turned and ran.

“Sam!” Jade yanked her boots on as fast as she could and followed her brother. “Wait up!”

She followed him for a good ten minutes, going farther and farther away from the camp. She emerged from the forest in front of a tall temple carved into a volcano.

Sam stood at the entrance and waved at her, then disappeared inside. Jade hung back a second, her instincts screaming _TRAP!_ Another second, and then — “Nya!”

Kai caught up to her and froze. “You're not Nya.”

“Indeed I’m not,” Jade said, her eyebrow quirking.

“No, just a second ago, you looked exactly like—” Kai stopped. “Someone wants us both here.”

“Obviously.” Jade blew a hair from her face. “Trap?”

“Probably,” Kai agreed. “But we’re gonna go in anyway, aren't we?”

“Duh.” Jade led the way inside.

Sam was waiting for them inside the Temple of Fire. He was very still, staring at Jade and Kai with a weird smile on his face. Jade stepped forward cautiously. “Sam?”

“I’m right here, _sister.”_ In the middle of the statement, Sam’s voice dropped at least two octaves. The image of Jade’s brother faded away, replaced by a huge shadow on the wall.

Kai drew in a sharp breath. “Garmadon.”

“Called it,” Jade muttered. “Where’s my brother?”

“A-and my sister!” Kai added. “You can’t hurt us. You’re banished; trapped in the Underworld!”

_“Which is precisely why you are going to retrieve the Sword of Fire for me.”_

“No, he won’t,” Jade said, stepping forward. “You haven’t gotten any of the Golden Weapons, Garmadon, and I don’t plan on letting that change at _any_ time.”

 _“Even if it is the only way to save your siblings?”_ Garmadon’s shadow stepped to the side, and, wrapped in large iron chains, Sam and Nya appeared, dangling over the lava.

“Nya!” Kai called at the same time Jade shouted, “Sam!”

“We’re okay!” Nya said as the chains dropped about a foot.

“No, we’re not!” Sam shouted, struggling against the chains. “Jadie! Help us!”

“We’re coming!” Jade promised. She turned to Kai. “Kai, we don’t have a choice. We have to get the Sword.”

 _“Tick tock, tick tock,”_ came Garmadon’s voice menacingly.

“I know,” Kai said to Jade. “But we can’t let _him_ get it.”

Jade nodded. “Naturally. Let's go.”

Together, they spun into their respective tornadoes and jumped from rock to rock. Kai grabbed the Sword of Fire and cut down their siblings. Jade caught them and got them both safely onto solid rock.

“Stay close,” Kai warned them.

“I think I speak for the both of us when I say we're not going anywhere,” said Nya. Sam nodded quickly.

 _“You have your siblings,”_ Garmadon noted. _“But you won't have them long unless you give me the Sword.”_

Sam squeaked and pressed closer to Jade.

“He can't hurt you,” Kai told him. “He’s just a shadow.”

 _“Even shadows have their uses,”_ Garmadon said.

Jade caught sight of a shadow rising behind her fellow Ninja. “Kai! Behind you!” she called.

Kai whirled around to face his own shadow. “Oh, _come on_ ,” he groaned.

 _“What? Too easy?”_ taunted Garmadon.

Jade shoved Sam and Nya behind a boulder so they would be safe from the dozen shadows that multiplied from Kai’s.

Jade and Kai stood back to back, surrounded by the copies of Kai’s shadows. “They’re _shadows_!” Kai protested. “How are we supposed to——”

“Get down!” Jade shoved Kai towards the rock that hid their siblings. Keeping her eyes on the wall, Jade kicked at empty air experimentally. On the wall, her shadow caught one of Kai’s, knocking it out. She smiled to herself. Problem-solving and beating things up. Her two favorite activities.

But even as she thought the fight was going well, things started to go wrong.

Jade felt herself being lifted into the air, her arms trapped to her sides. Looking at the wall, she saw that shadow-Garmadon had picked her up in one giant fist.

“ _Do_ something!” Jade yelled at Kai, who was trying his best to keep the shadows away from their siblings.

“Like what?!” Kai got kicked to the ground by one of his shadows.

“Anything!”

 _“Give me the Sword,”_ Garmadon suggested.

“Anything but that!” Jade did her best to kick at Garmadon, but his shadow was so much bigger than hers that she couldn't even get close. But she was suspended over lava, so maybe that wasn't a good idea.

With one more hit, Kai got knocked to the ground again and the Sword of Fire clattered out of his hand. One of the shadows picked up the Sword, but then—

“Ninja, go!” came a new voice. Jade looked down to see Sensei Wu doing what she had done before, using his own shadow to fight Kai’s. He snatched the Sword back from the shadow.

 _“Brother,”_ Garmadon growled. _“I see you protect two, but what about the other three?”_

“They are safe,” said Sensei, “far from _your_ grasp, Garmadon!”

 _“If you say so,”_ said Garmadon, a hint of amusement in his tone.

“Hey, uh, speaking of Garmadon’s grasp,” said Jade, trying again to kick at Garmadon, “it’s getting kinda hard to breathe! Little help!”

 _“Oh? Too tight?”_ Garmadon opened his fist and dropped her.

“Jadie!” yelled Sam at the same time Kai said, “Ninja, go!”

Jade didn't even have time to scream before arms caught her. Kai grinned at her as they landed on the rocks.

“Nice catch,” she told him.

“Learned from the best,” he replied, setting her down.

Nya was giving them a weird look; an almost devilish smile.

“What?” Kai asked his sister.

“Oh, nothing.” Nya grinned at them again, her eyes perfectly offset by the lava. Jade’s heart skipped a beat, but then she thought of something and her own smile disappeared.

“Sensei, why would Garmadon ask about the other three?” she asked in a low voice. Then her eyes widened. “Samukai. He sent Samukai after them!”

 _“Not them,”_ said Garmadon. _“Just the Golden Weapons.”_

“We cannot let my brother unite the five Weapons!” Sensei said. “We must keep them apart!”

 _“Awaken, guardian of the deep!”_ yelled Garmadon as Jade scooped up her brother and ran after Sensei, Kai, and Nya. _“They're stealing the Sword! You must not let them escape!”_

Out of the lava rose a red and gold dragon. “Oh, great,” Jade grumped.

The dragon whipped its tail over the exit, shaking down a bunch of boulders and effectively blocking the doorway.

“There’s no way out,” said Kai. “He's taken away all our options!”

“All but one,” said Sensei quietly. Jade’s head whipped around as he leapt away from the rest of them.

“Sensei, what are you doing?!” she shouted.

“If my brother wants to bring the other four Weapons here, then I will take the Sword of Fire to the Underworld,” said Sensei calmly, slicing through a rock to that he began to float away. “This is my sacrifice to bear.”

“You don't have to do this,” said Kai. “There has to be another way!”

Sensei said nothing, but the rock he was sitting on floated over the edge.

“NO!” Jade screamed.

 _“Then I will see you there, Brother,”_ said Garmadon, disappearing.

The dragon growled, the end of its tail lighting on fire like a Charmander. “Forget about Sensei,” Nya said, lightly touching Jade’s shoulder. “What about all of us?”


	7. Weapons of Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Things got a little crazy!

Talk about a _rude awakening_.

It couldn't have been more than four AM when Jay woke up to see a Skeleton right in front of his face. He lunged for his weapon, but only got a handful of dirt.

That was when he saw one of the Skeletons with his pair of nunchucks, and Samukai with the four Weapons they had already collected.

“Sorry, boys,” said Samukai sinisterly. “I'm afraid these belong to Lord Garmadon now. Tie him up with the others!”

Jay felt bony arms lift him up — an easy task, since he stood at exactly four feet and nine and one quarter inches tall — and set him down with Cole and Zane. Jade and Kai, he noticed, were nowhere to be found.

_Quick,_ he thought _. What would Jade do?_

While the Skeleton tied the three of them up, Jay swiped a small knife from its belt and stuffed it up his sleeve. That seemed like something Jade would do.

After Jay, Cole, and Zane were all dangling from a tree, Samukai yelled, “To the Fire Temple!” Then a pause, and then he changed his mind to “To the Underworld!”

The Skeletons all yelled and then left the three of them in the dust. Jay wrestled the knife out of his sleeve and started sawing at the ropes. “Hang on, guys,” he said. “I’ll get us out of here in a second.”

“Hold up, Jay!” said Cole. “Before you get through those you should probably—”

The ropes snapped and the three Ninjas all fell to the ground.

“—warn us…” Cole groaned.

Fortunately, something semi-soft had broken Jay’s fall. Unfortunately, that something was Cole. Ears burning, Jay untangled himself from Cole. “Sorry,” he muttered, tugging the larger Ninja to his feet. “Sk-Skeletons. We gotta go after them!”

“Right!” said Cole. “Come on, Zane!”

Jay grabbed their extra weapons from the trunk of Jade’s car and the three of them bolted after the Skeletons. Luckily, the past three months had made them a pretty good team.

“There they are!” shouted Zane.

There weren't as many vehicles as there had been previously. Jay supposed they must have already crossed over. But the largest Skeletruck was still in this realm, and that was where Samukai was bound to be.

As if on cue, Jay heard Samukai shout “More speed!” and then something else he couldn't hear.

Cole grabbed onto a chain dangling from the back of the truck, slowing it down with his super strength. Zane and Jay fought to take control of the truck from the Skeletons, to no avail. One of them managed to flip Jay off the truck and he knocked into Cole, bowling them both to the ground. Zane followed soon after.

As they scrambled to their feet, Cole’s elbow knocked into Jay’s throat, knocking the wind out of him. “Sorry, Jay. Didn't see you there.” He patted Jay’s head. “So short.”

Jay glared half-heartedly at Cole, having lost his voice.

“Guys!” yelled Zane.

Jay suddenly remembered where they were and tugged on Cole’s sleeve, herding him back to the Skeletons.

But by the time they got there, it was too late. The last truck vanished, crossing into the Underworld.

They lost.

~0~0~0~

Jay, Cole, and Zane ran up the steps to the Temple of Fire. “Jade! Kai! Sensei!” Cole yelled.

Zane took a look around the area, looking deep in thought. “The Sword of Fire was here,” he said, “as well our friends. But I only sense loss. We are too late.”

Jay remembered Zane mentioning his sixth sense during their camping trip. But in the maybe two times he had brought the rest of them in on the loop, it was just really depressing stuff.

He wanted so badly to inform Zane that depressing them wouldn't help them stop the Skeletons, but unfortunately he had not yet gotten his voice back.

“The Elemental Weapons have left this realm and are now in the Underworld,” Zane kept going. “The end is drawing near.”

“Great,” Cole sighed, flopping onto the stone steps. “The one place a mortal can't cross over.”

Jay patted Cole’s shoulder and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Then Kai’s voice came from behind them— “We might not be able to cross over.”

The Temple split in half, revealing a huge silhouette in the smoke. Then came Jade’s voice— “But a dragon can.”

The smoke cleared, unmasking four figures atop a huge red-and-gold winged reptile. Cole yelped and leapt behind a pillar.

“Our father used to tell us stories about the dragons,” said Kai as an unfamiliar girl with short black hair hopped off the dragon. “They were gentle creatures, who belonged to all worlds and varied between them.”

“Are you _insane_?!” Cole demanded.

“Once he realized we were trying to protect the Sword of Fire, he became quite a softie,” Kai continued, jumping off after the black-haired girl and receiving an affectionate nudge from the dragon. The girl giggled, and Jay felt his bisexual heart skip a beat.

“Do you like blue?” he blurted, but since his voice was still gone it came out as an unintelligible grunt.

“He cannot speak, but would like to know if you like blue,” Zane translated.

“It’s my favorite color,” she said.

The last two figures jumped off the dragon. One was Jade, and the other was obviously her brother. He was taller than Jay by maybe two inches, and considering Jay was only three months younger than Jade he found that really annoying.

“What happened to you?” Jade asked Jay. He glared at her.

“He lost his voice,” said Zane.

“Thank gods, am I right?” put in Cole. Jade laughed and Jay punched them both.

“Ouch,” Jade deadpanned. “Anyway, guys, this is my baby brother Sam.”

“I'm not a baby,” Sam argued. “I’m ten!”

“Exactly.” Jade lifted her brother off his feet. “Little tiny baby.”

Sam squeaked. “Jadie! Put me down!”

“I’ll meet you back at the shop,” Kai’s sister was saying. “Try to come back in one piece, okay?”

“I will, Sis,” Kai said.

“Nya, would you mind taking Sam with you?” Jade asked the black-haired girl. “I don't want him to get hurt.”

“Sure thing, Jade,” said Nya — _oh gods that’s such a pretty name_ — as she slung an arm around Jade's brother.

“Can you drive?” Jade asked.

“Yeah,” said Nya.

“Do you have a license?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have it on you?”

“Uh…” Nya patted her pockets and, miraculously, produced a wallet. “Yeah.”

“Great!” Jade tossed her keys at Nya. “Don't get pulled over, don't crash my car, and don't let Sam ride shotgun.”

“Aw!” Sam complained.

Four Ninjas jumped onto the dragon, but Cole remained behind his pillar. “Y-you guys go ahead,” he said. “I don't think all five of us can fit on that…thing.” Jay and Jade exchanged an amused look.

“You're right, Cole,” said Kai, grinning. “But I have a way to fix that.”

Cole gulped.

~0~0~0~

_“Waaaaa-hoooooooo!”_

Being on a dragon as it walked had been fun. But flying with a dragon? Jade was in ecstasy. Her dragon’s bronze scales gleamed in the sun, and the wind ripped the breath from her lungs as the dragon, whom she had decided to call Shine, flew faster and faster.

The rest of the five dragons had been just as friendly as the one in the Fire Temple, and were eager to fly with the Ninjas. Once they had started flying, all their uniforms had strangely changed into ones with dragons on the front and curling around their sides. And it was _awesome._

Cole hadn't stopped screaming since they had begun the flight. “How do these things cross into the Underworld?!” he shouted.

“I think we’re about to find out!” yelled Kai.

Four screams mingled together as the dragons spiraled into a nosedive. As she and Shine approached the ground, Jade shut her eyes tight and waited for impact.

It didn't come. Jade opened one eye, then the other. They were zooming through a black tunnel lit with purple crystals that Jade knew Geode would love. The wind whistled in her ears.

One of the dragons roared, and Cole screamed again. But Jade couldn't see anything beyond her own dragon. The blackness made her chest feel like it was compressing. She squeezed her eyes shut again, trusting the rest of her senses to tell her what was going on. Cold air against her face; she and Shine were still going super-fast. Several bursts of orange she could see through her eyelids and flashes of heat — fiery obstacles. For a few seconds, she neither felt nor heard anything.

Then she felt herself launch through the air, right into one of the others. “Oomph!”

“Sorry!” Jade opened her eyes again to see Kai’s face just inches from hers. “Hi there.”

“Hi.”

Jade pulled Kai to his feet and brushed off her uniform. She was aware of the other three staring at them, and was glad none of them could see her blushing under her hood.

Jade looked around. The area was all dark purple stone, lit only by purplish-white fire. In the distance, a large grey castle loomed out of the shadows.

She cleared her throat. “So! Uh, seems we’re in the Underworld!”

“It would appear so,” said Zane. He pointed to the tall tower on the opposite end of the cavern. “Sensei is inside.”

Jade didn't ask how he knew. Her fingers curled around the silver knife in her belt, and she motioned for the Ninjas to follow her.

“They'll be expecting us,” she whispered. “Make. No. Sound.”

The others nodded. She kicked off from the wall and started to jump across stalactites on the ceiling.

They were almost there when Jay started screaming almost silently. “Jay, honey,” Jade whispered, “I love you, but it’s honestly been an absolute pleasure since you lost your voice.”

That was when she realized the stalactite she was holding onto was not, in fact, a stalactite, but the leg of a giant spider. All the Ninjas screamed and let go.

Jade got up immediately. "When we get back to the surface world, I'm sanitizing my hands with _fire_ ,” she muttered. “I hate spiders.”

“I think we have bigger problems,” said Kai. “Incoming!”

Jade whipped her knife out of her belt as the Skeletons surrounded the five of them. “Okay, onetwothreefourfive…” She counted forty Skeletons. “That's eight boneheads for every one of us. I'm all right with these odds.”

That was when the spiders joined the fun.

“Well, crud.” Cole gripped his scythe. “Anyone got any bright ideas?”

Jay jumped and waved his hand in Cole’s face and tried speaking, but all that came out was a weird series of grunts.

“Can you understand what he's saying?” Cole asked Jade.

“Just because I speak English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian, Mongolian, German, and Filipino all fluently does _not_ mean I speak Grunt!”

“You speak all those languages?” asked Kai.

“I pick them up really easily!” She swung her knife at Skeletons who tried to approach. “Jay, what did you say?”

He made the same sound again.

“You feel an odd sensation?” guessed Zane.

Jay shook his head and repeated the sounds. Slowly Jade realized what he meant to say.

“You ate a weird crustacean?” asked Cole.

“Guys, I think what he's trying to say is—”

“TornadO OF CREATION!”

“That.” Jade patted Jay’s shoulder. “Glad you got your voice back.”

“But Sensei said it could lead to disastrous consequences!” Cole argued.

“We’re about to _have_ a disastrous consequence,” said Kai.

Cole hesitated a moment, then… “Earth!” He spun into his brown tornado.

“Ice!” Zane followed suit.

“Lightning!”

“Fire!”

“Light and Wind!” Jade joined last, having made sure the other four started their tornadoes correctly.

“Ninja, GO!”

The Tornado of Creation was five times the size of their individual tornadoes and glowed white and gold. Together, the five of them swept up Skeletons, giant spiders, and various parts of the tower to create an effective trap for the Skeletons — a caged Ferris wheel.

“That's one way to do it,” said Jade, accepting a high five from Cole. “Come on! There’s no time to waste.”

They ran down a spiral staircase to what appeared to be the throne room, right in time to see Samukai launch Sensei across the room with a kick. He landed right in front of them.

“Sensei!” Jade rushed forward to her teacher’s side. “Are you okay?”

“I am fine,” said Wu. “The Sword —”

“I don't think so,” Jade said, taking the Sword of Fire from him. “I’ll handle the bonehead.”

“Jade, no!” Cole tried to warn her, but she ran forward anyway.

Samukai had the other four Golden Weapons, including Jade’s Knife of Light and Wind. On second thought, maybe this was a bad idea.

“Teach her a lesson,” Garmadon said to Samukai, “but do not hurt her.”

Jade glared at Garmadon for a microsecond before blocking an attack from Samukai. Her borrowed Sword lit on fire as she swung at him. The Sword slammed against his ribcage and knocked him sideways. She stabbed the Sword into the ground and spun around it, kicking him down.

She glanced up at Garmadon, heat flashing behind her eyes. This was the man who had ordered her parents killed, if he could be called a “man” at all.

Samukai was getting back up, but didn’t seem eager to attack her again. This round of the fight had much more footwork. She ended up in a complete 180 from where she had started, but still managed to knock down Samukai again.

The Sword lit up as she raised it, intending to burn Samukai to ashes, but — “Jade, behind you!” yelled Jay.

Jade was only able to turn her head before Garmadon lifted her up by the arms, causing the Sword to clatter out of her hands. She kicked backwards at him and dropped to the ground. She stomped on his foot and then whirled around and punched him in the face. Garmadon flew backwards from the punch, landing a short distance away.

“That was for my parents, you jerk,” she snarled, shaking out her fist.

Garmadon got up. He looked like he was about to say something to her, but then looked past her at Samukai. “The Golden Weapons,” he said. “Give them to me.”

Jade whirled around. Samukai had picked up the fallen Sword of Fire and now had that, the Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Knife of Light and Wind, and the two Shurikens of Ice in each of his six hands. While Garmadon’s attention was on Samukai, she joined the rest of her team.

“You punched Garmadon in the face!” Kai whispered, holding up his fist.

She tapped her knuckles against his. “I know.”

Samukai looked down at the Weapons and then back up at Garmadon. “No,” he said defiantly, pointing the Sword of Fire at him. “You will listen to me now.”

Jade could tell right away that was Samukai’s mistake, especially when Garmadon started cackling. “No one can handle all of their power at once!” he said, stepping forward toward the Skulkin General as the Weapons began to shake. “Selfish fool. Did you not think I would plan on your betrayal? Not even I can handle all of their power. But now that they are combined, it will create a portal through space and time, allowing me to finally escape this ghastly place!”

Jade exchanged an alarmed look with Sensei.

Samukai started to levitate and screamed, exploding into white dust. The Golden Weapons clattered to the ground and an electric blue vortex appeared just behind Garmadon.

Jade recovered her voice. “Dang. How long have you been practicing _that_ speech?”

“Ten years. Now, if you don't mind, I would very much like to finish it.”

“If you don't mind, I would not like to see Ninjago destroyed!" Jade shot back.

“I never said I was going to destroy it!” Garmadon said. “Only recreate it in my image!”

“BUT YOU'RE UGLY AS HECK!”

“Where did you think you got your looks from?”

“What?”

“What?”

Before Jade could get answers out of him, he stepped through the portal.

Jade looked at Wu. “Sensei, what was he talking about?”

“Uh…” He patted her shoulder somewhat awkwardly. “You will learn, i-in time.”

“Okay.” She waited approximately ten seconds while retrieving her Knife of Light and Wind. “Is that enough time?”

“…no.”

“Oh, come on!”


	8. Rise of the Snakes

Cole saw the tip of a small blue sock sticking out from under his bed. He tugged on the sock and out came Sam, now hanging upside-down by his ankle in Cole’s hand.

Sam was ridiculously short and it was adorable. His blond hair was getting really long, probably due to the fact that it hadn't been cut in at least three months while he was in the hands of the Skeletons, and his eyes were the same sky-blue that Jade’s were when she was really scared.

“Please don't tell my sister where I am,” Sam said timidly.

Cole set him down. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing’s wrong—” Sam stopped when he saw the look on Cole’s face. “Okay, I don't want to leave.”

Jade had arranged for Sam to go live with his grandparents starting today. “Why not?” asked Cole.

Sam sighed and tugged at his hair, which reached the middle of his back. “Gran and Gramps mean well,” he said, “but they always call me Samantha and Gran buys me dresses and scolds me for behavior that's ‘unladylike’ and they never seem to listen whenever I tell them I’m a boy.”

Cole cracked a grin. “Yeah, I feel you.”

Sam looked up. “Really?”

“Yep.” Cole ruffled Sam’s hair. “When I was younger, I had a grandma who insisted on calling me Rebecca. One of my dads threatened to ban her from family gatherings to make her stop.”

Sam’s eyes went wide. “You mean, you— you're…?”

Cole shrugged. “I pass pretty well. It'll get better, promise. Just have a talk with them.”

“There you are!” Jade came in. “Come on, Samster, we gotta go!”

Sam stuck out his tongue. “Do I have to?”

“It’s too dangerous for you here, Sam,” said Jade. “I already talked with Gran and Gramps; they're not gonna call you Samantha anymore.”

Sam’s shoulders relaxed. “How are we getting there?” he asked.

“Well, I _was_ just going to drive there,” Jade said, grinning. “But I think it'd be a little faster on Shine, don't you?”

Sam looked like he was about to explode. “Cool!” He ran out of the room, and Jade turned to Cole.

“Thank you,” she said. “Whatever you said to him, thank you.”

“I just told him how I could relate,” Cole said. “Your grandparents don't sound exactly… accepting of his identity. Are you sure—?”

“It’s too dangerous for him here, Cole,” Jade said with a sour expression. “He's not an Elemental Master. He’s _ten_. If Gran and Gramps start giving him hell about his identity, yeah, I'll bring him back here. But for now, that’s the best place for him.”

She sighed, crossing her arms. “I'm just trying to do what’s best for him,” she said softly. “I… I don't want him joining our parents so soon.”

Cole looked at the door, as if he could see Sam through the walls. “Then you should probably get moving. Didn't you say you have to be there by three?”

Jade nodded. “Thanks again for talking to him, Cole. I owe you one.”

“Any time.”

Cole watched her leave. She and Sam were really similar — same golden hair, same eye shape, but while Jade’s eyes shifted color like a kaleidoscope, Sam’s eyes remained the same blue.

Cole considered Jade one of his best friends, but there was still a lot he didn’t know about her. Maybe he should ask her some questions when she came back.

~0~0~0~

Maybe they should have been training, but Jay didn’t care. Teaching Zane how to play video games seemed more important — and more fun.

Jade was still gone, but all the rest of the Ninjas were crowded around the TV, trying to get Zane through a difficult quest. He wasn’t very good at the game, even on easier quests, and the fact that this particular boss was a Frost Troll probably didn’t help matters.

“Come on! Use your fire attack!” Cole said.

“Shout at it with Unrelenting Force!” Kai added.

“Just keep hitting it with your sword!” said Jay.

The Frost Troll swiped at Zane and he died. All four Ninjas groaned.

“I got closer than last time,” said Zane. “I think I am getting the hang of it. Let me try again.”

But before Zane could respawn, the television switched off, causing the four of them to groan again when they saw Sensei Wu holding the plug to the TV.

“It took us three hours to get him there!” Cole complained.

“Why would you do that?!” said Jay.

Sensei gave them a disapproving glare, and Jay shrunk back slightly. He _hated_ disapproving glares. “Just because Lord Garmadon escaped through a vortex doesn't mean he won't return one day for the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu,” said Sensei, dropping the cord.

“But Sensei,” said Zane, “ever since he's been gone, Ninjago has had nothing but peace.”

“Y-yeah!” Jay chimed in, his confidence starting to return. “Peace is boring! There’s no one to save; there’s nothing to _do_!”

“We can train tomorrow,” said Cole.

“Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today,” Sensei said.

Jade had once told them something similar, and Jay hadn’t stopped thinking about it for days. Coming from Wu, though, the words kind of lost their impact. Jay could tell the others felt the same, because Cole said, “Well, I _was_ going to eat this pizza tomorrow, but if that’s the case— Ow!”

Wu had kicked the pizza out of Cole’s hand. “No pizza for you!” he said. “In order to reach your full potential, you must train!”

“Uh, remember when we did a little thing called the Tornado of Creation?” said Kai. “I thought that was pretty insane.”

Sensei sighed. “You four have merely scratched the surface of your full potential. There are still so many secrets you have yet to unlock. You haven't even begun to tap into what powers your Golden Weapons hold.”

“You wanna talk secret powers? Check this out!” Cole shifted his Scythe underneath the abandoned cord and plugged it into the wall. Skyrim’s loading screen was still going.

Zane picked up the controller again. “Don’t worry, Sensei,” he said. “We will be ready when Lord Garmadon returns.”

That was when Nya ran in. Jay’s face went pink, and then pale when she said, “Guys! Lord Garmadon — he’s returned! He was spotted approaching Jamanukai village!”

Zane dropped the controller. Kai and Cole scrambled for their Weapons, but Jay was frozen for another second before he snapped himself out of it. Nya handed him his Nunchucks and he started going red again. “Er — th-thanks — uh—“

“Hurry!”

“Okay!”

Jay sprinted outside with the others. “Should we call Jade?” he asked the group at large as they ran for their dragons.

“No time!” Cole said, jumping onto his dragon and dropping his Scythe. “I can fill in as leader!” He retrieved his Weapon and shot into the sky.

Jay exchanged a look with Kai before they followed Cole.

Seconds later, all four of them were high in the sky on their dragons. Luckily, the dragon-training exercises Jade made them do had gotten Cole over his fear of dragons so he no longer screamed continuously every time he was anywhere near Rocky.

Kai had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the ride. “You guys believe what Sensei said about unlocking our full potential?” he finally asked.

“He may be onto something,” Jay agreed. “I mean, since we got these Golden Weapons, it's not like we had to _use_ them. I wonder what they do.”

“I for one look forward to the future,” said Zane. “If there's more for us to accomplish, let it be.”

“Don't know about you, but is anyone else a little excited about battling Lord Garmadon?” Cole said, grinning. “I've been looking forward to trying out some new Spinjitzu moves. Could be the perfect opportunity!”

Jay flew up next to him and smirked. “Race you there?”

“Oh, you’re on!”

The four of them raced toward Jamanukai Village and landed in the snow. “Ha-ha! I was first!” Kai shouted.

“No!” Jay argued. “No one was faster than me!”

“Hey! My feet were down before yours!” Cole said.

“You are all disillusioned. It was clearly me,” said Zane.

A chorus of screams suddenly reminded the four of them why they were here. The Ninjas rushed into the village, Weapons out, as they heard the all-too familiar laugh and saw the all-too familiar shadow of Lord Garmadon coming from an alleyway.

“Stay sharp, fellas,” said Kai, holding out his sword. “Whatever happens, don’t let your guard down.”

That advice didn’t last very long.

As the shadow approached, the laughter got more high-pitched, and by the time “Garmadon” reached the exit of the alleyway, they saw that he was just a kid in a black hoodie with a white rib cage painted on it.

“It is I, Lloyd Garmadon!” the kid shouted, waving his arms in a failed attempt to look menacing. “I demand all the candy in town, or else!”

There was a beat of silence before the villagers who had been scared to death ten seconds ago all burst into laughter.

Lloyd looked concerned. Obviously this hadn’t been the reaction he had expected. “Uh, give me your candy, or I’ll release the Serpentine on you!”

But this just caused more laughter. Lloyd opened a small can and out popped a bunch of rubber snakes. Jay started feeling a little bad for the kid.

“He’s gonna have to do a lot better than use an old bedtime story to scare people,” Kai said, picking up a snake and stretching it so it flung away.

“The Serpentine are real, Kai,” Zane said solemnly. “They are not something to joke about.”

“Serpentine? Real?” Kai scoffed. “We're talking about the ancient race of snake people who once ruled Ninjago and were supposedly locked underground—“

“Sealed in five different tombs,” Jay added in a tone that totally didn’t let his fear show, “to separate the warring tribes and ensure they don't unify to exact their revenge upon those who put them there!”

Kai rolled his eyes. “It was an old wives’ tale to teach kids not to poke their noses where they don't belong. Don't you think it's a little suspicious no one's ever found one of their tombs?”

“Well that's because you'd be a fool to look for one,” said Cole. “If there was anything I hated more than dragons, it was snakes. Rubber or not.”

The four of them waded through the crowd. Cole picked up Lloyd like a sack of flour. “Don’t worry, folks, nothing to see here.”

Lloyd squeaked in protest and started kicking at Cole. “Put me down! I command you!”

Cole ignored the “command” and instead said, “Hey kid, where’d you come from?”

“You won’t get anything out of me, you hippopotamic landmass!”

Jay snorted. He was definitely going to start calling Cole ‘Fezzik’ at any given opportunity.

Cole didn’t even blink. “Okay, maybe you’ll talk to the police.”

“You’re taking him to the cops?” said Kai.

“What else would I do?” said Cole. “Hang him up by his hoodie on a store sign?”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.”

“We’re not doing that, Kai.”

“You’re no fun.” Kai paused a moment before adding, “You know, I bet Jade would let us do that.”

Cole snorted. “You kidding? Jade would have this taken care of before the rest of us even decided who won the race.”

“Wha— you know Jade?” asked Lloyd.

“ _You_ know Jade?” asked Jay.

“Yeah, she’s my uncle’s student!” Lloyd said. “Blonde hair, really tall, probably killed someone before, right?”

Jay almost choked. Now that he thought about it, Jade _did_ look like she had killed someone before. He’d have to ask whenever she got back. “Yeah, that’s her,” he said.

“Is she here? Oh, if she knew I ran away from school again, she’d flip!”

“A-ha!” said Cole. “Ran away from school, huh? Which one?”

“…I’m not saying anything else!”

So the four of them left an unhappy Lloyd with an equally-unhappy-looking cop and went back to their dragons. When Kai mounted his dragon, a scroll fell out of his saddlebag. “I don’t remember putting that in there,” he said, examining the scroll.

“That’s Sensei’s bag,” said Zane, taking a look as well. “You must have grabbed it in the rush.”

Jay hopped off Whisp. “What is it?” he asked curiously.

“It’s a scroll, windbag,” said Kai.

“I _know_ it’s a scroll,” Jay said. “But what does it say? It’s written in chicken scratch!”

“Not chicken scratch,” said Zane. “I believe it is Mongolian.”

“Can you read it?” asked Kai.

“I can try.” Zane took the scroll from Kai and started to read it slowly, unfurling it as he went. “One Ninja…will rise above the others… and become… the Green Ninja, the Ninja destined to defeat the Dark Lord!”

“Ooh, look, a picture!” said Jay. Said picture consisted of one big Green Ninja and five slightly smaller ones in black, white, bronze, red, and blue.

“Dark Lord?” said Kai quizzically. “Do you think they mean Garmadon? Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Like how awesome I’m gonna look in green?” said Jay.

“Oh, come on! Jade told me I mastered the training course faster than anyone, even her!” said Kai. “It’s obviously gonna be me!”

“The color _obviously_ suits me!” said Jay in a bad imitation of his tone.

“Technically, I am the best,” said Zane.

“Everyone, stop it!” Cole shouted. “Remember why Sensei brought us together in the first place. We're a team. We weren't meant to see this, and probably for good reason!” He sighed. “Come on, let's head back home. We have training to do.”

Zane put the scroll back in Sensei’s bag and went back to Shard. Kai turned to Jay. “Colors aside, do you think I could be the Green Ninja?”

Jay shrugged audibly and went back to his dragon.

~0~0~0~

Jade had intentionally taken the scenic route to Gran and Gramps’ house so she and Sam could fly around a bit. However, she could tell that his initial excitement had worn off after about half an hour of flying, when he went quiet.

“Jadie?” he said softly. “How do you know that Gran and Gramps are gonna accept me?”

Jade paused before answering. “Remember when I brought home my first girlfriend, and Gran fainted and then accused me of ruining Day of the Departed dinner by deciding to be gay?”

“…yeah….”

“Remember how I refused to talk to her or have any sort of contact with her for a month until she apologized?”

“Yeah….”

“They really do love us, Samster,” said Jade. “They love is because we’re us, and we’re not ashamed. Sometimes it just takes some time apart for them to realize that.”

Sam was quiet again for a few moments. “Think three months is enough time apart?”

“More than enough,” Jade promised. “It’ll be fine; you’ll see.”

Shine roared and then dived, making Sam squeak in surprise and hurriedly grab onto Jade. The dragon landed on their grandparents’ front lawn.

“Isabelle Jade Guang, is that a _dragon_?!” Jade’s step-grandfather Will ran out of the house and up to Shine. “Oh, he’s _amazing_! You simply _must_ bring him up to the studio for the CGI team to study!”

“Hello to you, too, Gramps,” Jade said, sliding off the dragon.

“Hi, Gramps,” said Sam, hopping off after his sister.

Will tore his gaze away from Shine. “Ah, there he is!” He swept Sam up in a hug, almost lifting him off his feet. “My favorite grandson!”

“Your _only_ grandson, dear,” corrected their Gran Irma from the doorway before joining her husband in hugging Sam. “My goodness, dear, we were so worried about you! Did that Garmadon hurt you? I swear, if he did, I’ll turn that bonehead into an ash pile!”

“I’m fine, Gran,” said Sam, wiggling out of the hug. “Actually, Garmadon was pretty cool. Definitely not a role model, but pretty cool.”

“Well, if you’re okay talking about it,” said Will, “I want to hear all about it! Jade, you too! Tell us about being a Ninja!”

“I believe what your grandfather is trying to say is, will you stay for tea, dear?” said Irma.

“Sure,” Jade said. “Doubt there’s anything big happening Ninja-wise anyway. Shine, stay.”

~0~0~0~

Lloyd trudged through the snow, exploring as usual. Escaping from that cop had been a piece of cake. He hadn’t even noticed that Lloyd had stolen a pair of handcuffs before running off.

Lloyd twirled said handcuffs around his finger. It was starting to get cold, and dark. Maybe he should head home soon —

The handcuffs went flying and landed with a metallic clunk. “Huh?” Lloyd investigated the sound, brushing aside snow to find a huge carving in the ground like a giant snake head.

There was a lever sticking out near him. He pulled on it and the carving started to split apart, rumbling and releasing green smoke. “Cool,” he breathed, and dropped into the hole that had been revealed.

The hole led down a massive icy slide, which Lloyd first tried to slide down on his feet like he had seen Jade do once when he was little and still visited his Uncle Wu, but he slipped and slid the rest of the way down on his butt, crashing into a pillar of ice at the bottom.

“Ow.” Lloyd sat up, rubbing the back of his head where it had slammed into the ice. He got to his feet, looking at the frozen cave around him. “Cool,” he said again, grinning at his reflection in an icy pillar.

“You are out of your mind to venture ssso far away from home, little one,” hissed a quiet voice from the shadows behind him. Lloyd whirled around, just barely managing not to slip on the ice as he saw the gigantic blue snake.

The snake stared at Lloyd, its eyes glowing red and swirling in a hypnotic manner. “Look into my eyessss,” the snake whispered. “Give up your mind. I will control you.”

Lloyd squeaked and hid behind the pillar, squeezing his eyes shut until he heard the snake go quiet. He cautiously opened his eyes to see the snake wobbling on its… well, not feet.

Lloyd grinned. “No, I will control you from now on.”

“What ssshall you have usss do, Massster?” the snake asked, bowing.

“Us?” Lloyd repeated before more snakes, these with legs, came out of the shadows. His smile widened. “My own army of snakes!”

~0~0~0~

Kai flew Flame into his stall, patting the dragon’s snout. Shine was still gone, meaning Jade was, too. He wondered where she was before going to join the others. “So we all agree,” Jay was saying. “The prophecy states that one of us will become the Green Ninja and the issue will not rest until it is decided.”

“May I suggest a tournament?” said Zane. “Last Ninja standing is the best.”

“And will be declared the Green Ninja! I love it!” said Kai.

The four of them reached the gate to see Nya training on the course. When she saw them come in, she slipped and fell off right in front of Jay.

“Hey, Nya,” Jay said shyly, helping her up. “Closer to beating your brother’s speed record?”

“Getting there,” she grinned. Seeing Jay trying to flirt didn’t even bother Kai anymore; he knew for a fact that Nya had the hots for Jade. “Heard what happened in town. Just a false alarm?”

“Yeah,” said Kai. “Uh, sorry, Sis, but we’re gonna need the space.”

Nya just shrugged and moved to the side.

“Two matches,” Cole said, distributing the training armor. “Winners of each face off, and winner of that fights Jade when she gets home cuz we all know she’s had the most training. Armor’s for our own protection.” He took out his Scythe. “It's time to see what these babies can do.”

“Hey, Nya, wanna see me mop the floor with them?” said Kai, grinning at his sister.

“No thanks,” she said, rolling her eyes at him. “I think I’ll just visit Jamanukai Village. Knock yourselves out.”

She left, closing the gate behind her. Guess it was a good thing Jade had taken Shine instead of driving, Kai thought before taking out his sword.

“First match — Kai vs Jay!” announced Cole. “Ninja, Go!”

Kai and Jay rushed at each other, knocking Cole down. Even after a week of having their Weapons, Jay still hadn’t gotten the hang of his, and shocked himself numerous times. While Jay was swinging the Nunchucks over his head to charge up a strike, Kai threw a fireball right in the middle of his chest plate and knocked him down. “And I think that’s a match,” Kai said, smirking as he helped Jay up.

Kai and Jay got out of the way as Cole and Zane got into position. “Next up, Cole vs Zane!” Kai said. “Ninja, Go!”

Cole swung his Scythe at Zane, who dodged and made Cole slice a pillar in half instead. Kai winced. Jade was gonna kill them if this kept up.

Zane threw one of his Shurikens at Cole’s feet, freezing him in place, and threw the other Shuriken at him. Cole deflected the Weapon back at Zane every time, and when Zane came back around to Cole’s front, Cole tripped him with the Scythe, claiming victory.

Now it was Kai vs Cole. Jay sighed. “For the prize and the title of best ninja, blah blah, Ninja Go.”

Kai ran at Cole, but Cole flipped out of the way of Kai’s Sword and slammed his Scythe into the ground, making Kai fly backwards into a pillar. Kai kicked off the pillar and landed back on the ground, feeling his Sword heat up again. Wait, no… “Too hot!” Kai yelped, waving the Sword. “It’s too hot!”

“Hot dang!” called Jay.

“Really?!” Kai tried to drop the Sword, but it seemed welded to his glove.

“It’s burning him!” Zane realized.

“Ahh! Fire!” yelled Jay.

Kai finally was able to throw the Sword onto the ground, where a fire erupted and started spreading across the courtyard. Kai was completely surrounded by flames. He couldn’t tell which way was which. Then he heard a loud BANG! like the gate slamming open, and a harsh cold wind gusted around the courtyard, blowing out the fires like candles.

Kai turned around slowly, and there she was, her Knife if Light and Wind held out in front of her, her hair windswept from a dragon flight, and her eyes an angry purple. Kai hid his burned gloves behind his back.

“I can’t even leave you guys for a couple hours!” Jade shouted. “What. The heck. Were you THINKING?!” Her eyes flashed red.

All four of them started trying to explain at once.

“We accidentally stole Sensei’s saddle bag—“

“And there was this scroll inside—“

“And the scroll had a picture and a prophecy—“

“About the Green Ninja!”

“The best of the bunch, who’s destined—“

“To defeat the Dark Lord, so we thought—“

“We’d have a tournament to see which of us is the best—“

“And which one would be the Green Ninja!”

“The Green Ninja?” Jade’s eyes went from scarlet to a skeptical opal. “You think making something up is going to get you out of trouble?”

“It’s true!” all four of them said simultaneously.

“Yeah, right.” Jade stabbed her Knife back into its sheath. “If it really is true, why don’t we ask Sensei?”

“Ask me what?”

“Speak of the devil.” Jade pushed through the others so that she was in front. “Sensei, what’s all this about a Green Ninja prophecy?”

Sensei looked like a deer caught in headlights. Kai saw Jade’s eyes go from opal to yellow. “Wait. You’re not trying to tell me it actually exists, are you?”

Sensei hesitated. “You were not meant to see the prophecy. Not until the time was right.”

“Well, can the right time be now?” Jade’s eyes were inching closer to purple again and the other four started to back away. “You haven’t kept secrets from me before, that I know of. Why start now?”

“A-and let’s start with which one of us is the chosen one?” said Kai, trying to change the subject.

“None of you have what it takes to be the Green Ninja,” Sensei said crossly. “And yes, that means you too, Jade.”

“ _What_?!” Jade ran after him as he went back into the monastery. “Sensei!”

A door slammed somewhere inside, and the four boys all looked at each other and ran to eavesdrop.

Kai couldn’t understand any of the arguing happening inside. “Are they speaking English?” he whispered.

“Mongolian,” Zane whispered. “Like on the scroll. Jade did mention she was fluent.”

“You think Sensei wrote the scroll?” Cole murmured.

“Either him or his dad, the First Spinjitzu Master,” Jay replied. “Gods, that felt weird to say.”

Inside Wu’s study, the arguing continued. Jade was shouting, and even though Kai didn’t understand the language, he understood Jade, and he knew she was really upset.

Suddenly, Jay’s phone vibrated in his pocket. The boys all froze, but Jade and Sensei were still arguing. Even Sensei was starting to shout now. Jay looked at the notification and went pale. “We have to go back to Jamanukai Village,” he said. He tore open the door to Sensei’s study, not even seeming to care about the argument anymore. “Jade! Emergency! Help!”

“ _Юу вэ_?”

“I have no idea what you just said, but let’s go! Nya’s in trouble at Jamanukai Village!” Jay looked at the others in panic. “The Serpentine are back!”

“ _Өө, там_!” Jade ran out after them and took off for the stables, leading the way into the sky, and thankfully switching back to English. “Stay close. Stay together.”

“Would we do it any other way?” said Cole.

They flew for Jamanukai Village, and Jade was inarguably the first on the ground. “Nya!” she yelled. “Nya, where are you?”

“Ah! Ninjas!” Kai heard Lloyd yell. “Get them!”

Kai whirled around to see — “The Serpentine? They’re real?!”

The snakes were surrounding the four of them. Kai couldn’t even see Jade anymore, and Nya was still nowhere to be found. So much for staying together.

“Ohh, it’s not just them we have to worry about!” said Cole, looking behind him. “The whole village has been hypnotized!”

Jay took out his Nunchucks, but Zane grabbed his arm. “No! Our Weapons are too unstable! We could do more harm than good!”

“Oh-kay, guess that leaves us with RUN!” yelled Jay. The four of them scattered and regrouped on a rooftop, then dropped into an alley behind a cart, accidentally startling Jade into yanking out her own Golden Weapon before she realized it was just them.

“ _There_ you guys are,” she said, sheathing the Knife. “I thought you were right behind me!”

“How could any of us be right behind you?” Jay said. “You run like the wind.” He pointed finger guns at her.

“That was bad,” Nya informed him, popping up from the other side of the cart and startling Jay and Kai both into jumping into Jade’s arms.

“Seriously?” She dropped them unceremoniously.

Kai untangled himself from Jay. “Nya, you’re okay!”

“Barely,” she said. “They’ve hypnotized everyone in town!”

“Mind control,” Jay mused, also standing. “How is this possible?”

“They’re Hypnobrai,” Jade said. “I’ve studied them. Believe me, out of all the tribes to be released, we should be thankful it’s this one.”

“I can’t believe it,” Cole said. “The Serpentine really are real!”

“Of course they’re real,” Jade said, looking at him quizzically. “One of your parents was an Elemental Master of Earth. They would have fought in the first Serpentine Wars.”

Cole looked like his brain had exploded, but he just shook his head. “Okay, you seem to be the expert here —“

“What else is new?” Jay interrupted.

“—what should we do?” Cole shot a look at Jay.

“The antivenom will be in the big gold staff that the one with the tail has,” Jade said. “He’ll be their General. If we can get the staff, we can reverse the mind control and save everyone. The real question is, how did they get out in the first place?”

“That would probably be Baby Garmadon,” said Cole.

“Lloyd seems to have a connection with the General,” Zane agreed. “We really should have dealt with him ourselves.”

“Wait, what?” Jade stared at them. “Lloyd Garmadon is here?”

“Yeah, and he seemed to be a little scared of you,” said Kai.

“Leave Lloyd to me,” Jade said. “You five handle the snakes and get that staff. It’s the only way to save the villagers.”

“Five?” Nya repeated.

“Well, you’re here and you can fight, right?” Jade said, smiling at her. “That makes you part of the team.”

She put out her hand, palm down. The other four and Nya piled their hands on top of hers. “Ninja, Go!” they all yelled before running off in separate directions.

~0~0~0~

Jade parkoured up the walls of the alleyway and onto a rooftop, scanning to find Lloyd. He wasn’t hard to spot; he still had that hoodie his mom had given him, even if he had painted skeleton ribs on it and added a silly-looking cape. Jade jumped from rooftop to rooftop and flipped off to the ground, landing in front of him.

“Sorry to bust your buzz, little Garmadon, but it’s time for you to go back to school,” she said, giving him a look that used to terrify him.

Lloyd squeaked. “Retreat!” He tried to run, but Jade caught up and grabbed him.

“Oh, no you don’t!” She held him up at arm’s length to get a look at him. “You’ve gotten a lot bigger than last time I saw you. How long has it — hey!”

Lloyd got snatched up by the Hypnobrai General, and Lloyd made a rude gesture at her as they retreated.

“I’m telling Misako about that!” Jade yelled after him.

That was when she realized that the General didn’t have his staff. She whirled around to see it in Cole’s hands. “Cole! The fountain!” she said.

Cole looked down at the staff in his hands, as if he hadn’t even realized he had been holding it. “Oh- oh yeah!” He put the staff in the fountain, and the antivenom began to spread out like a fog, clearing the eyes of every villager who had been hypnotized.

They’d saved the day, but Jade was still apprehensive. She stared at the gate of the village where Lloyd and the Hypnobrai had disappeared.

Kai nudged her shoulder. “We may not have stopped them today, but there’ll be other battles,” he said. “One day, we will stop them.”

“It’s not the Serpentine I’m worried about,” Jade said, tugging at the end of her sleeve. “It’s Lloyd. I’m afraid that he’s unleashed a great evil that he isn’t ready to face.”

“You’re… worried about Lloyd?” Kai stared at her. “But he’s the son of—“

“Garmadon, I know.” Jade finally looked at him. “But he’s a _kid_ , Kai. He’s even younger than Sam, and I promised his mother that I would look after him. If he gets hurt—“

“I think you’re overthinking this,” Jay said, appearing on her other side. “Besides, I’m sure the kid can take care of himself. If not, we’ll go in and get him. Easy as cake!”

Cole and Zane and Nya joined them. “In the meantime, there is much to learn,” Zane said. “We should go home, and ask Sensei to teach us the secrets of our Golden Weapons.”

Jade hesitated before nodding. “Yeah. Let’s go home.” She looked up at the others and smiled. “Let’s get to it, guys. We’ve got training to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, everyone, I was in a bit of a depression slump. But I’m back now, don’t worry.
> 
> If you’ve stuck around this long, you’re either a friend who I forced to read this, or you’re actually invested in this story. Either way, have a link to the WGTTD Discord server, where you can see WIPs of future chapters, share headcanons, and view art drawn by yours truly (or post some yourself)!
> 
> https://discord.gg/BZJaYrz


	9. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus... again. I'll try to be better about making an update schedule.

In every group of friends, there is always someone who feels like the odd one out. 

 

And in every group of friends he had ever had, it was always Zane. 

 

He saw the other four, laughing and talking and having a good time whenever all five of them trained together. They were always kind to him, and Jade especially seemed bent on bringing him into the group, but as usual Zane was left out.

 

It did not help that Zane was unable to understand sarcasm or, really, humor in general. Cole and Jay, at first, had seemed to have a silent bet to see which of them could get him to genuinely laugh first, but so far in the three and a half months since he had begun training neither of them had succeeded. 

 

Today, Jade was doing target practice with him. She had excellent aim, likely from her many years of training. Or perhaps it was natural skill. Zane asked her which of the two it was.

 

Instead of answering outright, she took a bow from the weapons shed and shot an arrow into the center of the target. Then she took one of her plain steel knives and threw it with such precision it split the arrow in two clean halves. 

 

The courtyard went silent, even the other three pausing their training to gape at her. She ignored them, addressing only Zane. “When I got here, I had pretty good aim already,” she said. “Then with years of practice, I was able to make my aim better and better until I almost never missed.”

 

She patted Zane’s shoulder. “You already have really good aim,” she told him with a smile. “I’ll help you work on it so you become even better.”

 

Zane nodded. “Thank —”  _ BWONG! _

 

“MAIL!” The other four rushed to the gate. 

 

The mailman sighed and set down his pack. “Let’s see. A letter from Jay’s parents… Kai has a fan letter… oh, Jade has  _ three  _ fan letters….”

 

"No package?" asked Cole. "I was expecting something from Creatures, Beasts, and Beyond.”

 

“Nope, no package — ah!” The mailman held up a medium-sized box. “There you go.”

 

“Rocky’s gonna love this!” Cole took off for the dragon stables. 

 

As usual, there was nothing for Zane, but he was used to it. He took the shurikens he had been using out of the target to keep working on his aim. 

 

“Hey, Zane, how come you never hear anything from your parents?” Jay asked. 

 

“I don’t remember my parents,” Zane said truthfully. “I’ve been an orphan all my life.”

 

The other three winced. “You mean you’ve never had a home?” Kai said. 

 

Zane shook his head, and Jade wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “The monastery is your home now,” she said, “and we’re your family. Right, guys?”

 

Jay and Kai both chimed their agreement, but Zane slipped out from Jade’s embrace and went back inside. 

 

~0~0~0~

 

Once training was over, Jade went down to the dragon stables. Shine perked up when he saw her, his tail wagging like a dog’s. “Hi, Shine,” she giggled, scratching under his chin. “Who’s a good dragon? You’re a good dragon! Yes, you are!”

 

He seemed to have forgiven her for giving him a bath yesterday, at any rate. She held up a potato, his favorite treat. Why a dragon loved potatoes was beyond her, but Shine almost knocked her down trying to get it. “Okay, okay!” She laughed and held out the potato. “Sit.” Shine sat, his tail still wagging. “Good boy!” She put the potato on the ground and counted to three. Shine bounded forward and pounced on the potato. 

 

Cole came back on Rocky. “Your dragon is so weird,” he said. 

 

“Ah, yes. The most powerful Ninja gets the clumsy vegan dragon who acts like a dog.” Jade rolled her eyes. “You’re just jealous because you have to order your dragon treats special and I can get mine for 59 cents a pound at NinVee.”

 

Cole rolled his eyes at her. “Sure, Jade. If you’re going flying, make sure you’re back before dinner. It’s Zane’s night to cook.”

 

“Uh-huh. For sure.” Jade climbed on Shine and took off into the sky. 

 

She loved flying — the wind in her hair, the sun on her face, even the cold sting of soaring through a cloud. She could stay in the sky for hours, but when the sun started hanging low in the sky she knew it was time to head back to the monastery. 

 

She steered Shine back east and flew towards home. 

 

She got back in time to help Zane finish dinner, and stop him from wearing a frilly pink apron that would have made the others tease him. Since tonight had spices more flavorful than pepper, she made sure Jay had a big glass of milk.   
  


During dinner, Kai started bragging about a pepper he ate once. “I had to drink like half a gallon of milk, but it was worth it!” he said. “Nya, wasn’t it awesome?”

 

“He cried for like ten minutes,” Nya said.

  
  
“Sis!”

 

“You are like a little baby. Watch this.” Jade picked a habanero off the edge of the chicken plate. She hated eye contact, but she forced herself to look straight into Kai’s eyes as she bit into the pepper. She raised an eyebrow cockily.

 

Kai sputtered. “What the —” He tried to do the same thing, but spat it out within thirty seconds and gulped down most of Jay’s milk.

 

“Hey!” Jay protested.

 

Nya burst out laughing. “What’s that, seventy Jade and maybe three Kai?” she asked.

 

Cole pulled out his phone. “One hundred four for Jade, two Kai.”

 

“You guys are keeping  _ score _ ?”

 

“Well, yeah. How else would we prove Jade is the best Ninja?”

 

“That’s low, guys,” Jade chastised. “I have four years of training on Kai; that score isn’t fair. Try Kai versus Jay.”   
  


“Kai versus Jay is four to ten,” said Cole.

 

“He and I just aren’t as competitive as he is with you,” Jay shrugged.

 

Jade considered that. “Healthy competition is good, but maybe we ought to tone it down a bit,” she said. “Like I said, I have four years over you, Kai.” 

 

“And a smaller ego,” said Jay. “And she’s taller!”

 

“By two inches!” Kai protested. 

 

“Yeah, and Cole’s eight inches taller than me,” Jade said. “Does that make him better?”   
  


“Nope!” Cole said cheerfully. “Jade is completely capable of kicking my butt, and I’m okay with that!”

 

“Jade can kick all our butts,” Nya pointed out. “I don’t think anyone —”

 

“Zane, dinner is delicious,” Jade interrupted loudly before dinner talk turned to a “Who could beat Jade in a fight?” debate… again.

 

“Thank you,” Zane said. “Your help was greatly appreciated.”   
  
“Yeah, we all love it when it’s your night to cook, Zane!” Jay added. 

 

“I wasn’t hearing any complaints about my duck chowder last night!” Cole said.

 

“That’s because it glued our mouths shut,” said Kai. “Did you really think Jay was speechless all throughout dinner?"

 

Jay scowled. “Yeah. Please don’t make that again.”

 

Zane smiled slightly. “I am happy to see that you all enjoy my cooking. Nya, you were saying earlier?”

 

“Thank you, Zane. I bet Captain America could kick Jade’s butt.”

 

“Why would they fight?” asked Cole. “They’d obviously be best friends.”

 

Nya blinked. “Snork. Snork, you’re totally right.”

 

“Language,” Wu reprimanded.

 

There was a beat of silence before five teens burst out laughing.

 

“I do not understand,” Zane said. “Sensei simply told Nya to watch her language. What is humorous?”

 

Jade stopped laughing long enough to explain the running gag in  _ Avengers: Age of Ultron. _ “One of the only redeeming factors in that movie, to be honest,” said Jay.

 

“Agreed,” said Cole. “Natasha and Banner’s subplot was totally useless.”

 

“And that whole thing with Nat thinking she’s a monster because she’s infertile? That’s how you know it was written by a man,” said Nya.

 

“Agreed,” said Cole again, holding up his hand for a fist bump.

 

Nya obliged. “Tony and Ultron were a little funny.” She imitated Thor. “No one has to break anything.

 

“Clearly you’ve never made an omelette,” Kai and Jade said simultaneously before bursting into giggles. “He beat me by one second!” Jade finished.

 

“You said that at the same time,” Zane said.

 

“It’s from the movie.”

 

Zane’s smile was gone. “I see.” He stood and started clearing dishes. Jade stood to help, but he simply waved her off. “It is fine. I can do it.”

 

“Oh. Okay.” Jade awkwardly sat back down. Everyone else resumed talking about the ups and downs of various Marvel movies, but Jade was quiet. She was worried about Zane….

 

~0~0~0~

 

After dinner, Zane cleaned the kitchen alone. When he went outside to take out the trash, he cast a furtive look back at the monastery to see if anyone was looking the windows. He accidentally made eye contact with Jade, and hastily looked away. He knew her autism made it difficult to maintain eye contact. He held up the garbage bag as an indicator as to why he was outside the walls, and stepped a little to the right so he was out of her line of vision. He quietly untied his gi and opened the panel in his chest.

 

As he suspected, one of his gears was stuck. He fiddled with it until it got unstuck, then stared at the many switches in the panel. Their labels had been peeled off years ago; he had no idea what any of them did. He was afraid to test them. What if one of them wiped his treasured memories of the Ninjas?

 

There was a small symbol on the inside of the panel, polished copper in the midst of the rest of the dull metal. He did not know what it meant, but assumed it was something to do with his creator.

 

A squawk in the trees got his attention. Zane quickly closed his chest panel and tied his gi back on. He looked up at the source of the sound, a medium-sized black falcon. Zane tilted his head.

 

The falcon mirrored his movements.

 

Zane blinked. He must have been imagining things, if a robot  _ could _ imagine things. He shook his head to clear it, and the falcon did the same.

 

He  _ definitely  _ wasn’t imagining things. Zane experimentally wiggled his arms, shuffling his feet. 

 

The falcon stared at him for a moment, then hopped, flapping its wings like it was dancing.

 

Zane felt his face grow into a smile. The falcon hopped towards the end of the branch, staring at Zane as it wanted him to follow, then took off into the sky.

 

Zane glanced back at the monastery to see if anyone was watching him, then slipped into the night after the falcon.

 

The bird only landed after they reached the forest, and Zane had to stop to catch his breath. Whoever built him had been very thorough in making Zane seem human, other than the panel in his chest. He ran forward a few more paces and found a large treehouse being built. Further investigation let him see the Hypnobrai building it, directed by Lloyd.

 

“If I see one girl in here, I’m gonna go ballistic!” Zane heard him whine. Zane’s eyebrows knit. He had to tell the others.

 

The falcon cawed, motioning its head as if encouraging Zane. 

 

Zane bowed his head. “Thank you, my mysterious friend.” He ran back towards the monastery.

 

~0~0~0~

 

Jade didn’t look up from her toast as Kai walked in. “What’s the mood for today?”

  
“Nothing exists and we all live in a computer simulation,” Kai said, completely monotone. 

  
Jade blinked. “I was asking more in terms of pronouns, but thank you for the early-morning existential crisis.”

  
“Oh. They/them today.”

  
“Thanks.”

 

“You’re welcome.” Kai sat down, and Jade passed them a plate of eggs. “Scrambled and fried with bacon. You do care!” They put a hand over their chest dramatically.

 

Jade rolled her eyes. “No, I just want everyone to eat their protein. Big training day today.”

 

“That might have to wait,” said Cole as he came in with Jay and Zane, all three already in their gis. “Zane has something to show us.”   
  


Jade and Kai exchanged a look and both quietly got up to change into their gis.

 

A few minutes later, Zane was leading them through the woods. “Does Zane even know where he’s going?” Kai complained under their breath. 

 

Jade punched them. “Zane’s never steered us wrong before,” she said, glaring at them. “I trust his judgement.”

 

Kai didn’t complain anymore after that, but when they caught up to Zane, they said, “Tell us again how you stumbled across Lloyd’s secret headquarters?”

 

“I followed a bird,” said Zane.

 

“Why did you follow a bird?” asked Jay incredulously.

 

“Because it danced.”

 

“Oh. Okay. Was it a cuckoo bird?” Jay laughed at his own joke, Kai and Cole joining in.

 

“Everyone knows cuckoo birds aren’t indigenous to these forests, Jay,” Jade said, knowing full well that no one knew that except for her and probably Zane.

 

A few more paces, and Jade could hear Lloyd whining at the Serpentine at how he wanted the fortress built. “Holy cannoli, Frosty was right!” said Cole, staring up at the treehouse.

 

“We can’t let that brat and those snakes get a foothold in Ninjago,” Kai said. “We need to destroy that thing before it becomes operational.”

 

“Whoa, are you sure?” said Jay. “It looks like a pretty cool tree house! Look, there’s a rope course, ooh! And a tree swing —!”

 

“Remember whose team you’re on!” said Cole. He sighed. “What should we do?”   
  


Jade surveyed the area. “It looks like the treehouse is being supported by those three trees,” she said, pointing them out. “Once those ties are severed, the whole thing will fall like a house of cards.”

 

“Why would one make a house of cards?” Zane questioned. “Such construction would be careless.”

 

Cole cleared his throat. “Alright, guys, gal, and nonbinary pal. Who’s taking which tree?”

 

“Zane, you take that tree on the south,” said Jade. “Jay, you take the east. Cole, west. Kai, keep watch on the roof. I’ll distract Lloyd.”

 

The four Ninjas nodded and snuck off in different directions.

 

Jade silently parkoured up a tree and in through a window of the treehouse, hiding in the rafters as Lloyd came into view. “Remember, no Ninjas, and  _ especially  _ no girls!” he shouted at the Hypnobrai.

 

“Wow, then it looks like I’m about the last person you want in your treehouse.” Jade silently dropped to the floor behind him.

 

Lloyd squeaked and spun around. “Jade!”

 

“You’re coming with me, Lloyd,” Jade said. “ _ Now. _ Your uncle is worried sick about you!”

 

“No, he’s not!” Lloyd said, stomping his foot. “Uncle Wu doesn’t care about me! He never did! And neither does my mom!”

 

“That’s not true, Lloyd,” Jade said, holding out her hand. “Your mother loves you. It broke her heart to leave you at Darkley’s, but she was going somewhere really dangerous. She wouldn’t even tell Wu where she was going. You have to believe me.”

 

“I don’t have to do anything!” He stomped his foot again. “You’re not the boss of me anymore, Jade! Serpentine, ATTACK!”

 

Snork. Jade whipped out her Knife, fighting off any Serpentine who approached. She felt the treehouse lurch, and knew it was because one of the Ninjas had severed a tree tie. She spun into her tornado, knocking away more snakes, and started up towards the roof. 

 

Another lurch. Jade heard one of the snakes calling for a retreat as she flipped onto the roof. “Cole, wait until we’re off the treehouse to cut the line!” Kai was shouting. Jay and Zane joined them.

 

Jade saw Cole nod, but then he froze. That wasn’t a good sign. “We need to get out of here, now!” she yelled, and grabbed Kai’s arm.

 

“But Cole —”

 

Cole flipped in front of them, brandishing his Scythe. “No one goes anywhere, until you deal with me!”

 

Jade could see the red glow in his eyes. “He’s been hypnotized!” 

 

“Yeah, well he better snap out of it quick, ‘cuz this whole place looks like it’s about to go down!” yelled Jay.

 

The Serpentine were retreating, but Jade didn’t have time to focus on that when one of her best friends was trying to kill her. “Come on, friends don’t hit friends,” she said, trying to talk Cole out of his hypnosis.

 

Cole punched her in the face. She staggered back a bit from the blow, but resumed her stance. “Zane, get Kai and Jay out of here,” she said, cracking her knuckles. “Get Sensei. He’ll know what to do. I’ll take care of Cole.”

 

“Be safe, Jade,” Zane said, and the White, Red, and Blue Ninjas all left, leaving Jade and Cole to their rooftop duel.

 

Out of the five Ninjas, Cole was the second-best fighter, after Jade. His size and strength far surpassed any of the rest, and he could easily lift more than any of them put together. But while Jade wasn’t in any way small, she was fast, and she was smart. She darted to the side as Cole attacked her again, and ducked, her foot swinging out in a low kick meant to trip him. Cole turned the trip into a front handspring and landed on his feet for more gracefully than someone his size should have been able to. But Jade didn’t have time to be impressed before he attacked her again, swinging his Scythe in a way that made it impossible for her to duck to the side again. In desperation, she jumped straight up, far higher than she should have been able to, and floated back down gently.    
  
“Floating powers! Nice!” she said to herself before launching back into battle.

 

She jumped again, leaping over Cole’s head and kicking the Scythe out of his grip, and the fight went to hand to hand. Jade ducked under his foot as it swung over her head, but then he brought his foot back down and kicked her in the face, sending her sprawling on the rooftop. Cole scooped up his Scythe and ran up the last rope holding the treehouse together. Jade sprung to her feet and threw a silver knife from her belt, pinning him by his sleeve to the tree trunk before he could sever the rope. In the time he was struggling to remove the dagger, soft flute music reached their ears.

 

The Ninjas had arrived on dragons, and Sensei had what Jade recognized as a Sacred Flute, meant to reverse the effects of a Serpentine attack. Nya waved at Jade from Shine. Jade saw Cole shake his head, and the red glow vanished. She leapt up next to Cole and removed the knife from the tree. “Welcome back, buddy,” she said, punching his shoulder.

 

“Ow.” Cole rubbed his shoulder. “What happened? Did I… Jade, your face!” 

 

She lightly touched the parts of her face where he had hit her. “You weren’t yourself; it’s okay. Come on, let’s just get out of here.” She severed the last line and jumped on Rocky as he flew next to their tree. Cole jumped with her and took the reins.

 

“We must hurry!” called Sensei. “No one is guarding the monastery!”

 

Five dragons soared back home and were met with only flames. “We’re too late!” Kai said. “Those snakes!”

 

“Shard, put this out!” Zane ordered his dragon. Shard’s icy breath covered the flames and put them out. The dragons landed in what used to be the courtyard, and Jade immediately ran to Shine to comfort him. He whined, resting his head on Jade’s shoulder like he was hugging her. She gently pet his scales while the rest of them talked about everything that was now gone, but after her parents’ house had been burnt down last spring she only felt numb.

 

“If you hadn’t followed that silly bird, none of this would have happened!” Kai shouted at Zane. 

 

“Kai,” Wu reprimanded.

 

“No, Sensei, he’s right!” Jay chimed in. “Thanks to you, all my engineering projects are gone!”

 

“Hey!” Jade snapped. “It’s not Zane’s fault!” 

 

Zane looked ready to cry. “This is a teaching moment,” he said timidly. “There must be something we can learn from this.”

 

“A  _ teaching moment _ ?” Cole said incredulously. “What is  _ wrong  _ with you? Don’t you get it?  _ Everything is gone!” _

 

“Enough!” Wu began yelling at the three of them, while Zane silently started crying. 

 

Jade came up to him and hugged him. “Don’t pay any attention to them. It’s not your fault.”

 

Zane seemed preoccupied with staring at something behind Jade. He gently tugged on her arm and pointed, and what she saw was a black falcon. She nodded, and within seconds she and Zane were in the air on their dragons.

 

The falcon led them far into the desert, to a large ship partially buried in the sand. Jade and Zane landed near the ship and exchanged an ecstatic look. “Tag team?” she suggested. Zane nodded.

 

Zane found a broom inside and started sweeping sand onto the deck. Jade used her Wind powers to clear it away. Below deck, she found several spots where the wood was gone. She tagged Zane and went to the nearest town to pick up more wood and some tools for repairs. She’d had a pirate phase when she was younger and knew just about everything there is to know about ships like this. She carefully fixed the bare spots in the walls. 

 

While she was doing that, Zane tagged her and went to town himself. He came back with food and various supplies so they could stay alive while trying to repair the ship. 

 

There were some things that Jade didn’t know how to do, like plumbing and electrical stuff, but she and Zane managed to get the ship in shape within a few days. 

 

The fourth day after having left the monastery, Zane decided to bake pies so the Ninjas could have something to eat when he and Jade brought them here this evening. Jade spent the day outside, spiffing up the boards so the ship looked less old and horrible. She found old symbols near the hull of the ship:  _ Destiny’s Bounty _ . She grinned like a little kid. The  _ Destiny’s Bounty  _ had gone missing while its crew searched for the Dark Island, but no one knew what had happened to it. Jade marveled at the fact that she and Zane had been living in such a cool-yet-obscure part of history and not even realized it!

 

Zane called to her from the top deck, and Jade leapt up to meet him, floating down gently. She’d also spent the last few days practicing her new power. “The pies are all in the oven,” Zane informed her. “They will be ready in about an hour. Shall we retrieve our friends?”

 

“Absolutely,” Jade said. She held out her arm like a nineteenth-century count. 

 

Zane looked at her quizzically. “Shouldn’t I be the one offering my arm?” he asked.

 

“Gender is a social prison. Let’s go!”

 

They climbed on Shine and took off toward the monastery.

 

“ZANE! JADE!” A chorus of voices greeted them, and the pair was buried under a massive group hug.

 

“Zane, we’re so sorry for everything we said!” Jay said.

 

“Jade, you were right, we’re all responsible,” said Cole, squishing Jade in a bone-crushing hug.

 

“Can’t… breathe!” she gasped.

 

“There is no need to apologize,” said Zane.

 

“But what about all the horrible things we said?” Kai asked anxiously. “Isn’t that why you left?”

 

“Of course not,” Zane answered. “I saw the Falcon again, and Jade followed it with me.”

 

“That’s our Zane,” Cole said fondly, dropping Jade to hug Zane.

 

“We’re so happy to have you back!” Nya said, hugging Jade and Zane both.

 

“Is it my night to cook dinner?” Zane said, his voice slightly muffled. Everyone laughed.

 

“Yes, Zane. We would love it if you made dinner,” said Wu.

 

“But I already have,” said Zane.

 

“Come on, we’ll show you guys where we’ve been,” said Jade. 

 

“I think you will all be pleased,” Zane added.

 

The others followed them out into the desert, and several jaws hit the sand when the  _ Bounty  _ came into view. “The  _ Destiny’s Bounty, _ ” Jade introduced. “Our new home.”

 

“I can’t explain it, but I feel a connection to the Falcon,” said Zane a little hesitantly. “I think he’s trying to show us the right path to take.”

 

“I don’t have any arguments,” said Jade. “Anyone else?”

 

The other three Ninjas shook their heads. “Do I smell pie?” Jay asked hopefully.

 

Zane nodded. “Cobblerberry. And myrtleberry. And apple. I figured you all would be —” He didn’t even finish before Kai, Jay, Nya, and Cole all started running for the ship.

 

“I am proud of you, Zane,” said Wu. “One day, I promise: we will find your family.”

 

Zane smiled fondly. “I already have.”

 

Jade smiled too. Hopefully her mission to include Zane more was drawing to a close.

 

“I feel there is more to you than meets the eye,” Wu continued. “There is something special about you, Zane.”

 

Zane looked slightly uncomfortable as he asked, “Sensei, will I become the Green Ninja?”

  
  
Wu looked just as uncomfortable; Jade could tell because his eyes turned deep brown. “It is too early to tell,” he finally said. “Come now. It would be a shame to let them eat all that pie.”

 

There was still something Wu was hiding, Jade thought. She was determined to find out what. But may as well let it go for now. Her stomach growled, and she raced Zane and Wu to the  _ Bounty _ .


End file.
